It is advisable to inoculate all specimens, swabs as well as exudates, in Ureaplasma Differential Agar and Agar media immediately on arrival in the laboratory to avoid loss of viability. Swabs and exudates may, if necessary, be inoculated into broth and held no longer than four days at 4°C before incubation. Specimens should be streaked over a wide area of the agar plate. Urine specimens are prepared by centrifugation and the sediment inoculated immediately. Agar cultures are incubated anaerobically at 35-37°C. Cultures of Ureaplasma may show a color change in the plate from yellow to pink as early as 24 hours after incubation. Since viability is limited, Ureaplasma Differential Agar cultures should be transplanted as soon as the color change begins to show. This may occur as early as 12 to 16 hours after incubation. Although storage conditions have not been established for all strains or species, most Mycoplasmas and Ureaplasma when fully grown can be stored indefinitely at -80°C. Positive broth cultures must be frozen as soon as possible after indicator change has occurred to preserve viability.
鑒別方法
When seen under the microscope, Ureaplasma colonies produce the manganese reaction turning them dark golden brown or rich deep brown of variable size (depending on crowding). If specimens contain both Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum, differentiation may be enhanced by staining agar block preparations with the Dienes stain (6). Ureaplasma colonies retain the brown color, while Mycoplasma hominis and other large colony Mycoplasmas stain azure blue and exhibit the typical "fried egg appearance" due to growth of the organisms into the agar.
