Working with _Bartonella apis

Bartonella apis is a gram negative bacterial member of the honey bee ( Apis mellifera) gut core microbiota that can be cultivated in vitro. Its isolation and characterization were recently carried out by Waldan Kwong in the laboratory of Dr. Nancy Moran and are described in depth here.

In vitro culture conditions

Plate Growth

Bartonella apis strains PEB0150 and PEB0149 are generally cultured at 35°C and 5% CO₂. They grow robustly on agar plates after 48 hours on the following media:

• Heart Infusion Agar supplement with Sheep's Blood
• Columbia Agar supplement with Sheep's Blood

Liquid Media

Bartonella apis strains PEB0150 and PEB0149 can be cultivated in the following liquid media (same general culture conditions as above, without shaking):

• Insectagro (proprietary media)

-- Main.SeanLeonard - 23 Feb 2017