Ali Gilblair

Colony Morphology

Colony morphology is a way that scientists describe the different and individual colonies

of bacteria that was separated in a petri dish, and it is used to identify the different

microorganisms that were separated from a mixed culture. A good way to determine the

differences in colony morphology is the different colors (pigmentation), shapes, elevation (how

tall the bacterial colony is), and texture of the cultures. The shape of the bacteria could be

circular, irregular, filamentous, or rhizoid, so that is a big determination of which bacteria. Most

of the time, looking through a microscope is not even necessary because the cultures are visible

with the naked eye. The pinpoints of the colonies are used to describe the size because the

pinpoints could be small, or large.

The materials used for colony morphology are just like the materials used for the streak

plate method because they both kind of tie in together. You use an inoculating loop to spread the

bacteria around to isolate the bacteria so they can form into colonies. You also used the Bunsen

burner to sterilize the loop so there is no cross contamination. All the bacteria is colonized on a

petri dish, so that is important to isolate the colonized species from the mixed culture.

The results of the colony morphology will show up as different colors and different

shapes and sizes. The colonies should be able to easily identify once incubated.

Colony Morphology

Microbiology and Lab (MCB1010C)