The key difference between basal and complete media is that basal media are simple media that support the growth of non-fastidious bacteria, while complete media are the culture media enriched with all of the growth requirements of a strain of the organism.
Growth medium or culture medium is a liquid, semisolid or solid substrate designed for the growth of microorganisms or cells under in vitro conditions. Further, this medium contains all the necessary nutrients and conditions required for the multiplication of microorganisms or cells. In fact, it is an artificial environment that supports growth. Therefore, selecting an appropriate growth medium is utmost important for the in vitro cultivation. Basal media and complete media are two types of growth media.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Complete Media
3. What are Basal Media
4. Similarities Between Basal and Complete Media
5. Side by Side Comparison – Basal vs Complete Media in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What are Basal Media?
Basal media, also known as simple media, are the growth media that support the growth of non-fastidious bacteria. They are also called general purpose media. Generally, basal media are useful for primary isolation of microorganisms.
Figure 01: Basal Media
Peptone water, nutrient broth and nutrient agar are several basal media. Moreover, basal media are the culture media used routinely to isolate and culture a variety of bacteria in a molecular biology research laboratory.
What are Complete Media?
Complete media are the culture media enriched with all the growth requirements of an organism. Therefore, a complete media consists of basal medium and other supplements. Complete cell culture medium is a complete medium used to culture animal and human cells. It contains the basal medium and other supplements, including cell culture supplement, antibiotics, and fetal bovine serum. Hence, a complete medium is supplemented with additional components that are not present in the basal medium.
What are the Similarities Between Basal and Complete Media?
- Basal media and complete media are two types of culture media used to grow microorganisms or cells.
- Complete media contain the basal medium and other supplements.
- Moreover, both media contain nutrients required for the growth of cells or microorganisms.
What is the Difference Between Basal and Complete Media?
Basal media are simple media that support the growth of non-fastidious bacteria. Meanwhile, the complete media are the culture media enriched with all the requirements of an organism. So, this is the key difference between basal and complete media.
Moreover, basal media provide only the basic nutrient requirements while complete media provide all the requirements. Furthermore, basal media do not contain additional components or supplements, while complete media contain additional components than the basal media. Hence, this is another difference between basal and complete media.
Summary – Basal vs Complete Media
Basal media are the simple media used to grow non-fastidious bacteria. These basal media provide basic nutrients for the cells or microorganisms to grow. Peptone water, nutrient broth and nutrients agar are several basal media we use in our laboratories. Moreover, basal media are often used for the primary isolation of microorganisms. On the other hand, complete media provide all the growth requirements of an organism. It contains a basal medium and supplements. Thus, complete medium consists of additional components that are not present in the basal medium. So, this summarizes the difference between basal and complete media.
Reference:
1.“Growth Medium.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2019, Available here.
2. Rijal, Nisha, et al. “Bacterial Culture Media: Classification, Types and Uses.” Learn Microbiology Online, 26 Aug. 2019, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Broth nutrient medium in the test tubes placed in the incubator” By Syed Sajidul Islam – Own work (CC BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia