9. MOTILITY TEST

The purpose of this test is to determine if an organism is motile or nonmotile. This test is used to differentiate between too many species to mention here. The test involves stabbing a special mitility medium in the center with an inoculating needle, incubating the medium for 24 to 48 hrs, and then reading the results. Some times tetrazolium salts are used to aid in visualizing motility. INTERPRETING TEST RESULTS: MOTILE BACTERIA = organisms migrate from the stab line and diffuse into the medium. NONMOTILE BACTERIA = organisms grow only along stab line.