Laboratory maintenance of Brucella abortus.

This unit provides protocols for growth of Brucella abortus on solid or in liquid media and for long-term storage of laboratory stocks. Two issues affecting the culture and storage of isolates of this slow-growing bacterium are emphasized: contamination of cultures and outgrowth of attenuated variants lacking a complete lipopolysaccharide. Laboratories planning to work with B. abortus should be aware that Biosafety Level 3 facilities are required. Furthermore, this organism is classified in the U.S. as a Select Agent, which restricts its use to laboratories registered with the U.S. government's Select Agent programs.