Legionella pneumophila causes Legionnaire's disease and Pontiac fever; which medium is used to culture it?

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Prepare for the NBME Microbiology Test. Study with flashcards and multiple-choice questions. Each query comes with hints and detailed explanations. Ace your exam!

Multiple Choice

Legionella pneumophila causes Legionnaire's disease and Pontiac fever; which medium is used to culture it?

Explanation:
Legionella pneumophila is a fastidious organism that needs special nutrients and a detoxified environment to grow. It isn’t reliably cultured on routine media. The standard medium used to culture it is charcoal-yeast extract agar, often buffered and sometimes supplemented with iron and L-cysteine. The charcoal neutralizes toxic compounds, while the yeast extract provides essential nutrients; cysteine and iron are specifically required by Legionella for growth. Because of these requirements, MacConkey, blood agar, or chocolate agar don’t reliably support its growth, making charcoal-yeast extract agar the appropriate choice.

Legionella pneumophila is a fastidious organism that needs special nutrients and a detoxified environment to grow. It isn’t reliably cultured on routine media. The standard medium used to culture it is charcoal-yeast extract agar, often buffered and sometimes supplemented with iron and L-cysteine. The charcoal neutralizes toxic compounds, while the yeast extract provides essential nutrients; cysteine and iron are specifically required by Legionella for growth. Because of these requirements, MacConkey, blood agar, or chocolate agar don’t reliably support its growth, making charcoal-yeast extract agar the appropriate choice.

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