What is the purpose of thioglycolate medium in bacteriology?

Thioglycolate medium is specifically designed to evaluate the oxygen requirements of bacteria. It contains a reducing agent that creates a low-oxygen environment, allowing it to support the growth of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The medium has a gradient of oxygen saturation; oxygen is more concentrated at the top, while it becomes increasingly anaerobic toward the bottom.

When bacteria are inoculated into this medium, their growth patterns reveal their oxygen requirements. Aerobic bacteria will grow toward the top where oxygen is abundant, while anaerobes will thrive in the lower regions. Additionally, facultative anaerobes can grow throughout the medium but will usually show more growth where oxygen is available.

The other options focus on different functions that are not applicable to thioglycolate medium. For instance, determining genetic information of bacteria typically involves molecular techniques rather than a growth medium. Assessing the ability to metabolize sugars is generally achieved through specific fermentation media, rather than through oxygen requirement testing. Promoting the growth of pathogenic bacteria may happen in various enriched media designed for that purpose, but thioglycolate medium itself is not selective for pathogenic strains specifically.