Hofer's Alkaline Medium, 500G

Agrobacterium is a genus of bacteria that causes tumours in plants. Most strains of Agrobacterium are plant pathogens and their natural habitat is on and around the roots and underground stems of susceptible plants (1). Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the most commonly studied species in this genus. Agrobacterium is well known for its ability to transfer DNA between itself and plants, and for this reason it has become an important tool for plant improvement by genetic engineering. Hofers Alkaline Medium is formulated as described by Subba Rao (4) and is used for growing Agrobacterium species while inhibiting Rhizobium species from soil. It is a selective medium with high alkaline pH. Agrobacteria grow at higher pH while Rhizobia fail to grow at alkaline pH. The medium is supplemented with mannitol as the carbohydrate or carbon source. Yeast extract provides nitrogenous nutrients. Sodium chloride maintains osmotic balance of the medium. Dipotassium phosphate buffers the medium. Thymol blue is the pH indicator, which remains blue at high alkaline pH. Application: Used for Selective Isolation of Agrobacterium Species While Inhibiting Rhizobium Species from Soil Samples