Comparative analyses of viable bacterial counts in foods and seawater under microplate based liquid- and conventional agar plate cultivation: increased culturability of marine bacteria under liquid cultivation.

Bacterial counts under liquid cultivation using 96-well microplates were performed. The counts under liquid and under solid cultivation were equivalent in foods, although the counts under liquid cultivation exceeded those under solid cultivation in seawater, suggesting that some bacteria in seawater were viable but did not form detectable colonies. Phylogenetic analysis of bacteria obtained under liquid cultivation was also performed.