TITLE:
Comparison of Direct Microbial Count Procedures for Planktonics and Sessiles Enumeration
AUTHORS:
Barbara Speranza, Angela Racioppo, Antonio Bevilacqua, Milena Sinigaglia, Clelia Altieri
KEYWORDS:
Direct Viable Count, Biofilm, Epifluorescence Microscopy, Fluorochromes
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.5 No.21,
November
5,
2014
ABSTRACT: In the present investigation, the sensitivity of different direct microbial count procedures applied on systems containing both planktonics and sessiles was tested. The direct count pour plate was compared with direct epifluorescent microscopic enumerations in order to evaluate the efficiency of the studied techniques in giving information about microbial activity or viability. Our results indicate that the standard plate count procedure is the most sensitive method to estimate viable and cultivable planktonic cells. On the other hand, direct enumeration by epifluorescent microscopy may become an interesting alternative to count sessile cells.