Quantitation of Leishmania tropica major by Its Ability to Form Distinct Colonies on Agar-Based Media

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Abstract
The growth of the pathogen L. t. major [from humans] on agar-based media was studied to further develop techniques that can be used to quantitate the number of viable organisms in infected tissues. Individual, intact amastigotes formed distinct, countable colonies on 4 different agar-based media. The largest colonies (0.35 mm) and highest plating efficiency (> 90%) were found on media formulated with a heart-infusion agar base. Use of this media in the quantitation of the organism should increase the sensitivity of the quantitation technique and allow collection of more interpretable data on host-parasite interactions in experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis.