Preservation and transportation of bacteria by a simple gelatin disk method.

A wide range of bacterial species, e.g., Enterobacteriaceae and Neisseria, Streptococcus, Branhamella, Haemophilus, Gemella, Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, and Bacteroides species, were successfully preserved for 1 to 5 years by our gelatin disk drying method. The beta-lactamase activity of penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae was retained for more than 3 years with this method. Good results were also obtained upon airmailing many strains of N. gonorrhoeae embedded in gelatin disks from Japan to the United States. Neisseria, Branhamella, Gemella, and Haemophilus organisms suspended in the reagent used in the preparation of the gelatin disks could be preserved for 6 to 12 months after freezing the cell suspensions at -20 degrees C. Furthermore, modification of our gelatin disk preservation method made possible the safe long- and short-distance transportation of clinical isolates. Our methods can be used by any small laboratory, since they require only conventional instruments and reagents.