Comparative Analysis of Different Nutrient Media for Growth of Agrobacterium tumefaciens under Small Volume Cultures

Aims: To assess the effects of different selective complex growth media: Yeast Extract Peptone (YEP), Yeast Extract Mannitol (YEM), and Luria Bertani (LB) on growth and multiplication of three different strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Place and Duration of Study: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genetics and Tree Improvement Division, Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, between July and December 2020.

Methodology: Three strains of Agrobacterium (EHA105, GV3101 and LBA4404) were inoculated to grow on three different complex nutrient media (YEP, YEM, LB) supplemented with respective antibiotics for a period of 30 hours. Optical Density (O.D) at 600 nm was measured at every 3-hour interval to analyze differential growth pattern.

Results: Though all the three nutrient media supported the growth of bacteria, YEP medium supported the fast growth of all strains of bacteria, LB medium was a little less efficient but comparable to YEP media. However, YEM medium proved the least supportive for bacterial growth among the three media types.

Conclusion: Agrobacterium is used for genetic transformation of plant species and crop improvement. knowledge of the growth pattern of bacteria is necessary for the effective infection of plant material. We have analyzed that three strains of Agrobacterium on three different complex media, among the three media YEP media was supporting fast growth. This study can help the researchers to gain knowledge of the growth pattern of Agrobacterium to be used in the genetic transformation of plant species accordingly.