Growth studies on Mycobacterium BCG: oxygen preference.

Growth of Mycobacterium BCG, (BCG), in semi-solid Dubos medium (containing glucose) was microaerophilic; the organisms were less microaerophilic in semi-solid glycerol-free medium (containing only amino acid nutrients). In Marks medium (containing glycerol) BCG grew aerobically at the air/liquid interface. Non-mycobacterial species showed changes from microaerophilic to aerobic growth much more readily than did BCG. Aeration characteristics of culture media were evaluated by measuring the oxygen transfer rates (OTR). OTR values were affected by the concentration of carbohydrates in the medium and varied inversely with volume. The growth of BCG in both static shaken liquid cultures substantiated the results of the oxygen preference experiments.