What does selective media typically do?

Selective media primarily serves the purpose of inhibiting the growth of specific bacteria while allowing others to grow. This type of media contains specific agents that suppress the growth of undesired microorganisms, effectively creating an environment that favors the growth of target organisms.

For example, in a laboratory setting, selective media can be tailored to support the proliferation of certain types of bacteria, such as gram-negative bacteria, while suppressing the growth of gram-positive bacteria. This targeted approach is essential in various applications, including clinical diagnostics, environmental microbiology, and food microbiology, where isolating specific organisms from mixed cultures is often necessary.

The other options describe scenarios that do not align with the function of selective media. Encouraging the growth of all microorganisms contradicts the selective nature of the media, while allowing only anaerobic bacteria to grow or promoting fungi exclusively represents more specific growth conditions that don’t encompass the broader purpose of selective media.