Prescott's Microbiology 8th Edition by Joanne Willey, Linda Sherwood, Christopher J. Woolverton, Lansing Prescott, John Harley, Donald Klein

Exercise 3

Would microbiology have developed more slowly if Fanny Hesse had not suggested the use of agar? Give your reasoning.

Step 1 of 2

Fanny Hesse was the wife of one of Koch’s laboratory assistants and suggested using agar to solidify nutrient media. Previously gelatin had been used to solidify media and this was prone to degradation by microbes and high heat. Agar cannot be digested by many bacteria and remained stable at high temperatures.