Two Improved Methods for Obtaining Axenic Cultures of Cyanobacteria

Abstract

Scoring the agar plate before incubation under unidirectional light led to a rapid separation of gliding filamentous cyanobacteria from their contaminating bacteria. Twenty strains were purified by the method. Additionally, 13 axenic cyanobacterial strains were isolated from pour plates made after treatment of cyanobacterial cultures in tryptone-yeast extract-glucose broth with cycloserine in darkness to select for obligate photoautotrophs.