Fastidious organism

A fastidious organism is any organism that has a complex nutritional requirement. In other words, a fastidious organism will only grow when specific nutrients are included in its diet. The more restrictive term fastidious microorganism is often used in the field of microbiology to describe microorganisms that will grow only if special nutrients are present in their culture medium. An example of a fastidious bacterium is Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which requires blood or hemoglobin and several amino acids and vitamins in order to grow. Other examples include Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp, which are capnophilic – require elevated CO₂ – among other requirements.