Stock Cultures Methods For Preserving Mushroom Strains

STOCK CULTURES METHODS FOR PRESERVING MUSHROOM STRAINS 

Once a pure strain has been created and isolated, saving it in the form of a stock culture is Stock cultures—or slants as they are commonly called—are media filled glass test tubes 

20 mm X ) 00 mm. with a screw cap. Every experienced cultivator maintains a collection of stock rultures l riown as a species bank , The species bank is an integral partofthe cultivation process. With it. a cultivator may presen/e strains for years. 

To prepare slants, first mix any of the agar media formulas discussed earlier in this chapter. Fill test tubes one third of the way, plug with cotton and cover with aluminum foil or simply screw on the cap if the tubes are of this type. Sterilize in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes at 1 5 psi. Allow the cooker to return to atmospheric pressure and then take it into the sterile room before opening. Remove the slants, gently shake them to distribute the liquified media and lay them at a 15 30 degree angle to cool and solidify. 

An excellent method to save cultures is by the buddy system passing duplicates of each species or of strains to a cultivator friend. Mushroom strains are more easily lost than one might expect. Once lost, they may never be recovered. 

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