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Is XLD agar selective or differential

Author

Isabella Browning

Updated on April 19, 2026

Our XLD Agar is a selective, differential medium used for the isolation and differentiation of gram-negative enteric pathogens, in particular Shigella and Salmonella species.

Is XLD media selective or differential?

XLD Agar is both a selective and differential medium. It contains a yeast extract as a source of nutrients and vitamins. It uses sodium deoxycholate as a selective agent and is therefore inhibitory to Gram-positive microorganisms.

Why is XLD selective for Salmonella?

XLD selectively promotes the growth of Salmonella and Shigella by inhibiting other enteric pathogens and differentiates Gram-negative enteric bacteria on the basis of xylose fermentation, lysine decarboxylation and the production of hydrogen sulphide from the sodium thiosulphate.

How is XLD Agar differential?

XLD Agar is both a selective and differential medium. It contains yeast extract as a source of nutrients and vitamins. It utilizes sodium deoxycholate as the selective agent and, therefore, is inhibitory to gram-positive micro-organisms.

Can E coli growth on XLD Agar?

Primarily the usage of XLD agar is for the detection of Salmonella species in food analysis. Some sources say that e. coli also can be detected by the presence of yellow colonies. Theoretically yellow colonies observed for the presence of other Enterobacteria which maybe also coliforms.

What does XLD stand for?

AcronymDefinitionXLDXylose Lysine Deoxycholate (agar)XLDX-Linked Dominant (chromosome)XLDXylose Lysine Decarboxylase (agar; microbiology)XLDeXperimental Laser Device

Is SSA selective or differential?

SS Agar is a differential, selective medium for the isolation of Shigella and Salmonella species from pathological specimens, suspected foodstuffs, etc. Gram-positive and coliform organisms are inhibited by the action of the selective inhibitory components brilliant green, bile salts, thiosulphate and citrate.

Is Salmonella Shigella Agar selective or differential?

Salmonella Shigella (SS) Agar is moderately selective and differential medium for the isolation, cultivation and differentiation of Salmonella spp. and some strains of Shigella spp. SS Agar is a modification of the Desoxycholate Citrate Agar.

What is XLD agar made from?

XLD agar is composed of yeast extract, sodium chloride, xylose, lactose, sucrose, l-lysine hydrochloride, sodium thiosulfate, iron (III) ammonium citrate, phenol red, sodium deoxycholate, agar, and distilled or deionized water. The chapter also describes the preparation of XLD agar.

What is DCA agar used for?

DCA agar (deoxycholate citrate agar) is a solid bacteriological growth medium used for isolation of enteric pathogens.

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Which of the following media is selective for Salmonella?

The most commonly used media selective for Salmonella are SS agar, bismuth sulfite agar, Hektoen enteric (HE) medium, brilliant green agar and xylose-lisine-deoxycholate (XLD) agar. All these media contain both selective and differential ingredients and they are commercially available.

What color does hektoen enteric agar turn in the presence of Salmonella colonies?

Result Interpretation on Hektoen Enteric Agar Salmonella colonies are blue-green typically with black centers from hydrogen sulfide gas. Shigella appear greener than Salmonella, with the color fading to the periphery of the colony.

What Agar does Salmonella enterica grow on?

BS agar is the medium of choice for the isolation of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, and it is used for the isolation of atypical salmonellae, such as those which ferment lactose (7).

Which selective medium is used for the isolation of gram positive microorganisms?

Mannitol salt agar (MSA) which is selective for Gram-positive bacteria and differential for mannitol.

Does E coli grow on hektoen enteric agar?

Most coliforms are inhibited on Hektoen Enteric Agar, but species may overcome the inhibitory effects of the medium after prolonged incubation. Coliforms that can ferment the available carbohydrates, such as Escherichia coli, will produce orange to salmon-coloured colonies.

How do you make a DCA agar?

  1. Suspend 52g of dehydrated medium (supplied by the manufacturer) in 1 litre of distilled water.
  2. Heat with great care to dissolve the medium completely. …
  3. As soon as the medium has cooled to 50°C -55°C mix well and dispense aseptically in sterile Petri dishes.

Is SSA a selective media?

SS Agar is a moderately selective medium in which gram-positive bacteria are inhibited by bile salts, brilliant green and sodium citrate.

Which media is differential?

A differential medium support the growth of any microbe but distinguishes them based on how they metabolize or change the medium. One example of differential medium is blood agar. Blood agar distinguishes microbes based on their ability to lyse red blood cells (RBCs), a property known as hemolysis.

What is XLD agar used for?

Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate agar (XLD agar) is a selective growth medium used in the isolation of Salmonella and Shigella species from clinical samples and from food. The agar was developed by Welton Taylor in 1965.

Is Salmonella oxidase positive or negative?

Salmonella enterica, a Gram-negative, non-sporing, catalase-positive, oxidase-negative facultative anaerobic bacilli is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals, with multidrug-resistant S. enterica serovar Typhimurium being an emerging problem (1–4).

What is brilliant green agar?

Brilliant Green Agar is a selective medium used for the isolation Salmonella spp, other than S. Typhi and S. Paratyphi from pathogen materials, stool, urine, environmental samples and food. Brilliant Green Agar is recommended by APHA, FDA and USP.

Is salmonella a lactose fermenter?

As early as 1887, it was known that Escherichia coli was a lactose fermenter and that Salmonella was not a lactose fermenter. Therefore, most differential plating media commonly developed and used today for the isolation of Salmonella contain lactose (16, 17, 31).

Is BSA selective or differential?

Bismuth sulfite agar is selective due to the presence of inhibitors and is differential on the basis of hydrogen sulfide ( H2S) production.

Why is SS Agar selective and differential?

Principle And Interpretation SS Agar medium is recommended as differential and selective medium for the isolation of Salmonella and Shigella species from pathological specimens (1) and suspected foodstuffs (2, 3, 4, 5) and For microbial limit test (6).

What is differential agar?

Differential Media Blood agar is a differential medium that distinguishes bacterial species by their ability to break down the red blood cells included in the media. Blood agar is often used to distinguish between the different species of pathogenic Streptococcus bacteria.

Is citrate agar selective differential or both?

Simmons’ citrate agar is a selective and differential medium that tests for an organism’s ability to use citrate as a sole carbon source and ammonium ions as the sole nitrogen source. It is used for differentiating gram-negative bacteria on the basis of citrate utilization.

What bacteria can grow on Cetrimide Agar?

Cetrimide agar is a type of agar used for the selective isolation of the gram-negative bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As the name suggests, it contains cetrimide, which is the selective agent against alternate microbial flora.

What is the composition of Macconkey agar?

Contents. It contains bile salts (to inhibit most Gram-positive bacteria), crystal violet dye (which also inhibits certain Gram-positive bacteria), and neutral red dye (which turns pink if the microbes are fermenting lactose).

Which selective media is used for Salmonella isolation from stool sample?

The most commonly used media for selective enrichment are Rappaport-Vassiliades soy broth, selenite cysteine broth, and tetrathionate broth. Modified semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliades is another selective media particularly useful for detecting salmonella in feces and environmental samples.

Are Salmonella aerobic or anaerobic?

Salmonella is a facultative anaerobe that can grow in a broad range of environmental conditions. The organism is also an intracellular pathogen that must survive an oxidative burst during infection, and negotiate anaerobic and aerobic environments.

What is Wilson Blair Agar?

Wilson and Blair Agar was formulated by Wilson and Blair (1) for isolating Salmonella species especially Salmonella serotype Typhi from clinical specimens. … Ferrous sulphate is reduced by Salmonella species in presence of bismuth sulphite and dextrose to form iron sulphide, indicated by black coloured colonies.