E. coli are bacteria that live in the gut of warm blooded animals so they like being incubated at body temperature which is about 98 deg. F or 37 deg. C. They will grow at room temp. but more slowly. They can be grown in the dark or the light. You must put them on some sort of nutrient agar medium that provides all of the nutrients they need. This must all be done in a sterile manner with a bacteriological loop sterilized by a Bunsen burner flame until it glows red, or a sterile cotton swab. When you are finished, you must have some way of diposing of all the materials you used in a manner that will kill the bacteria. 10% bleach is an effective disinfectant. Swabs and petrie dishes can be put into bleach to be decontaminated. If an autoclave is available to you this is best. ...
