Editing Colony (biology) (section)

=== Microbial colonies ===
[[File:Candida albicans PHIL 3192 lores.jpg|thumb|[[Clone (cell biology)|Clonal]] micro colonies of the fungus [[Candida albicans]] on an agar plate]] 
A '''microbial colony'''  is defined as a visible cluster of [[microorganism]]s growing on the surface of or within a solid medium, presumably cultured from a single cell.<ref>{{Cite book
  | last1 = Tortora | first1 = Gerard J.
  | first2 = Funke | last2 = Berdell R.
  | first3 =Case | last3 = Christine L.
  | title = [[Microbiology, An Introduction]]
  | location = Berlin
  | publisher = [[Benjamin Cummings]]
  | year= 2009
  | pages = 170–171
  | isbn = 978-0-321-58420-5 }}</ref> Because the colony is [[Clone (cell biology)|clonal]], with all organisms in it descending from a single ancestor (assuming no [[contamination]]), they are genetically identical, except for any [[mutation]]s (which occur at low frequencies). Obtaining such genetically identical organisms (or pure [[Strain (biology)|strains]]) can be useful; this is done by spreading organisms on a culture plate and starting a new stock from a single resulting colony.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sanders |first1=E.R. |date=2012 |title=Aseptic Laboratory Techniques: Plating Methods |url=https://www.jove.com/t/3064/aseptic-laboratory-techniques-plating-methods |journal=Journal of Visualized Experiments |issue=63 |page=e3064 |doi=10.3791/3064 |pmid=22617405 |pmc=4846335 }}</ref>

A '''[[biofilm]]''' is a colony of [[microorganism]]s often comprising several species, with properties and capabilities greater than the aggregate of capabilities of the individual organisms.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nadell |first1=Carey D. |last2=Xavier |first2=Joao B. |last3=Foster |first3=Kevin R. |title=The sociobiology of biofilms |journal=FEMS Microbiology Reviews |date=January 2009 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=206–224 |doi=10.1111/j.1574-6976.2008.00150.x |pmid=19067751 |url=https://academic.oup.com/femsre/article/33/1/206/2683812?login=false}}</ref>