Kligler Iron Agar

Intended Use

Kligler Iron Agar is specifically designed for the differentiation of microorganisms based on dextrose and lactose fermentation, as well as hydrogen sulfide production.

Product Summary and Explanation

Kligler Iron Agar is a refined version of the original Kligler formula, optimized for the identification of pure cultures obtained from primary plating media. Initially, the medium utilized a soft nutrient agar that included dextrose, Andrade indicator, and lead acetate. This modification enables enhanced detection capabilities for differentiating between lactose-fermenting and non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli.

Moreover, the inclusion of lead acetate is pivotal for identifying hydrogen sulfide when used in conjunction with Russell's double sugar medium, facilitating the differentiation of typhoid, paratyphoid, and dysentery groups.

This agar formulation, simplified by Bailey and Lacy by replacing Andrade indicator with phenol red as the pH indicator, remains crucial in laboratory settings. Kligler Iron Agar is essential for the differentiation of enteric Gram-negative bacilli originating from clinical specimens and food samples, streamlining the identification process in microbiological analyses.