CZAPEK-DOX Agar

CZAPEK-DOX Agar

EMD Cat. No. 1.05460.0500

500 g

Elective agar proposed by CZAPEK (1902-1903) and DOX (1910) for the cultivation of fungi and soil bacteria.

Mode of Action	Preparation
Experimental Procedure and Evaluation	Quality Control
Typical Composition (g/liter)	Literature

Mode of Action
This culture medium contains sucrose as its sole carbon source and nitrate as its sole nitrogen source. Fungi grow well in this medium, but the only bacteria which are able to develop are the non-fastidous soil-bacteria. According to RAPER and FENELL (1965), addition of 1 % corn-steep liquor promotes the growth and sporulation of most Aspergillus species. WARCUP (1950) recommends addition of 5 g yeast extract/liter and a pH value of 4.0 for the isolation of soil fungi. The accompanying bacterial flora can also be inhibited by adding 30 mg streptomycin/liter and 2 mg aureomycin/liter (WARCUP 1963).

Preparation
Suspend 48 g in 1 liter of purified water. Autoclave (15 min at 121°C), pour plates.
pH: 7.3 ± 0.2 at 25°C.
The plates are turbid and whitish.

Experimental Procedure and Evaluation
Inoculate by spreading the sample material thinly on the surface of the culture medium.
Incubation: usually 1 week at 28 °C aerobically. The optimal incubation temperature for Penicillium, Aspergillus and Candida are 20-25 °C, 30 °C and 28 ° C, respectively.

Quality control

Test strains	Growth
Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778	poor / fair
Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633	fair / good
Candida albicans ATCC 10231	fair / good
Escherichia coli ATCC 25922	poor / fair
Penicillium commune ATCC 10428	fair / good
Aspergillus niger ATCC 16404	good / very good
Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 7752	none / poor
Candida glabrata DSM 70614	poor / fair
Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923	none

Typical Composition (g/liter)
Sucrose 30.0; sodium nitrate 3.0; magnesium sulfate 0.5; potassium chloride 0.5; iron(III)sulfate 0.01; di-potassium hydrogen phosphate 1.0; agar-agar 13.0.

Literature

American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Pollution Control Federation: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 18th ed., Wahington, 1992.
CZAPEK, F.: Untersuchungen über die Stickstoffgewinnung und Eiweißbildung der Pflanzen. - Beitr. Chem. Physiol. u. Pahtol., 1; 540-560, 3; 47-66 (1902-1903).
DOX, A.W.: The intracellular enzymes of Penicillium and Aspergillus with special references to those of P. camenberti. - U.S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Anim. Ind. Bull., 120; 170 pp (1910).
RAPER, K.B., a. FENELL, D.J.: The genus Aspergillus (The Williams a. Wilkins Comp., Baltimore, 1965).
WARCUP, J.H.: The soil-plate method for isolation of fungi from soil. - Nature, 166; 117-118 (1950).
WARCUP, J.H.: Occurence of dormant ascospores in soil. - Nature, 197; 1317-1318 (1963).