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to subculture

to subculture

7.9
To move cells or bacteria into fresh liquid so they keep growing
  • verb
  • /ˈsʌbˌkʌl.tʃɚ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : subcultivar
  • The induced calli were subcultured to MSO and starvation media to induce embryogenesis.

Examples

  • Bottles that indicated positive growth were subcultured and processed by standard methods (8).

    Academic text (2015)
  • The fungus was further subcultured on SDA + SP slants and stored in screw-capped tubes.

    Academic text (2004)
  • No change in the morphology of the entire three group-derived MSCs was seen even after being subcultured for passage 7 (Fig. 2a-i).

    Academic text (2018)
  • These strains were subcultured on MSF agar, nutrient agar, and CD agar in the absence of mattress cover material.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The cells were subcultured into fresh media to ensure their continued growth.

  • In the laboratory, the microorganisms were subcultured to a different nutrient agar for optimal development.

  • After observing the initial growth, the researcher subcultured the bacterial colonies to larger flasks.

Compounds

A group of young people who share a style, music, or behaviour different from the wider culture

Surface Forms

subculture infinitive
subcultured past participle
subculturing present participle
subcultures third person singular

Morphology

subculture = culture (semi-transparent) = sub + culture

The verb is built regularly from 'sub-' plus 'culture', but the scientific meaning is specialized and may not be obvious to learners outside biology.

Etymology

Subculture as a verb comes from sub- meaning 'under' and culture meaning 'to grow or keep living', as in agriculture where people grow plants. So to subculture cells is to move them into fresh food so they keep growing in the lab.