colony

1. A group of cells growing on a solid nutrient surface, each arising from the multiplication of an individual cell; a clone. 2. A group of people with similar interests, living in a particular location or area. [L. colonia, a c.]

- daughter c. a secondary c. growing on the surface of an older c.; it is smaller and may have characteristics different from those of the mother c..

- filamentous c. in bacteriology, a c. composed of long, interwoven, irregularly disposed threads.

- H c. a c. of motile organisms forming a thin film of growth. Cf.:O c.. [Ger. Hauch, breath]

- lenticular c. a bacterial c. shaped like a lentil or a double-convex lens.

- mother c. a c. which gives rise to a secondary c. (a daughter c.), the latter growing on the surface of the former; the mother c. is larger than the daughter c., and the characteristics of the colonies may differ.

- mucoid c. a c. showing viscous or sticky growth typical of an organism producing large quantities of a carbohydrate capsule.

- O c. growth of a nonmotile bacterium in discrete, compact colonies in contrast to a film of growth produced by some motile bacteria. Cf.:H c.. [Ger. ohne Hauch, without breath]

- rough c. a bacterial c. with a granular, flattened surface; this type of c. is usually associated with loss of virulence with respect to that of smooth colonies.

- smooth c. a bacterial c. with a glistening, rounded surface; this type of c. is usually associated with increased virulence with respect to that of rough colonies.

- spheroid c. a c. of protozoa in which the individual cells are held together in a coherent spherical mass by a gelatinoid material.

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col·o·ny 'käl-ə-nē n, pl -nies a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usu. growing in or on a solid medium

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n.

a discrete population or mass of microorganisms, usually bacteria, all of which are considered to have developed from a single parent cell. Bacterial colonies that grow on agar plates differ in shape, size, colour, elevation, translucency, and surface texture, depending on the species. This is used as a means of identification. See also culture.

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col·o·ny (kolґə-ne) [L. colonia] a collection or group of bacteria in a culture derived from the increase of an isolated single organism or group of organisms.