Abstract
This study includes the investigation of the ability of some gram positive and gram negative bacterial species to produce slime layer which play a role in biofilm formation and complication of pathogenic infections and resistance to antibiotic therapy.
Thirty five bacterial isolates were used in this study, they include: Staphylococcus aureus (14 isolates), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7 isolates), Escherichia coli (6 isolates), Proteus mirabilis (3 isolates), Salmonella spp. (2 isolates), Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia spp.
Three methods were used to detect slime layer production which include: Congo red agar medium (CRA), modified congo red agar method (mCRA), and Microtiter (MTP) method.
The results showed that there is no differences between Congo red agar and modified Congo red agar methods. Microtiter plate method was more sensitive for slime layer detection as the rate of production was 51.429% from all isolates as compared with 31.429% positive results in Congo red agar method. There are clear differences in moderate and negative results for both methods.
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