How do you make a culture suspension of a fungal colony that does not release spores?

Question

I am a student researcher studying about R. solani and it is known to not produce any spores and only mycelia/sclerotia. I need to produce a culture suspension of the said fungi to be able to spread it evenly on the media for antifungal evaluation, but how do I do that?

Answer 1

Hi Lara C.,

Yes, you've hit the nail on the head. This fungus likes to propagate by hyphae; see https : / / www .nature. com/ articles/ s41598-019-40043-5 for example (remove spaces in the link before following). But why can't you use a mechanical means of dividing up such an agar culture? You'd have to experiment to find conditions allowing maximization of colony-forming-units (or whatever the equivalent nomenclature is for fungi). What fun! A tip: if the fungal hyphae are delicate, and subject to turbulence, chop them in a gel-thickened medium to minimize turbulence.

I'd be curious to hear how you come out on this -- I'll be reading the literature!

-- Cheers, --Mr. d.