Which medium is not appropriate for the cultivation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae?

Which medium is not appropriate for the cultivation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae?

• A. Chocolate agar
• B. Cefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin agar
• C. Martin-Lewis agar
• D. Modified Thayer-Martin agar

Answer: (B)

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a fastidious, capnophilic bacterium that needs enriched, selective conditions to grow from clinical specimens. Enriched media like chocolate agar provide the necessary X and V factors and support growth well, while selective media such as modified Thayer-Martin and Martin-Lewis agar include antibiotics that suppress contaminating flora, helping recover Neisseria from mixed specimens. Cefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin agar is designed to suppress a broad range of competing bacteria, particularly enteric pathogens such as Yersinia. Those antibiotic components also inhibit Neisseria gonorrhoeae, making this medium unsuitable for cultivation of this organism.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a fastidious, capnophilic bacterium that needs enriched, selective conditions to grow from clinical specimens. Enriched media like chocolate agar provide the necessary X and V factors and support growth well, while selective media such as modified Thayer-Martin and Martin-Lewis agar include antibiotics that suppress contaminating flora, helping recover Neisseria from mixed specimens.

Cefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin agar is designed to suppress a broad range of competing bacteria, particularly enteric pathogens such as Yersinia. Those antibiotic components also inhibit Neisseria gonorrhoeae, making this medium unsuitable for cultivation of this organism.