Colony morphology identification

Each microorganism has a distinct characteristic when grown on certain media agar in Petri dish. This so called gross morphology includes colony shape, size, color and surface features.

Examples of colony shapes of common microorganisms:

• Saccharomyces cerevisiae colony morphology on Sabouraud dextrose agar: cream colored and smooth.

• Lactobacillus: circular form and entire margin.

Colony morphology identification is the simplest method of microbe identification. For a more specific identification the cell morphology can be analyzed under the microscope.