Other Resources

Return to Table of Contents

Culture Domes

Once cultures are inoculated with spores, place them into Culture Domes consisting of clean plastic greenhouse trays covered with transparent humidity domes or C-Fern Growth Pods. For best results, Culture Domes should be thoroughly clean. Both trays (P7-66-5666) and domes (P7-66-5674) are available through Carolina Biological Supply Company and are included in most Kits. Growth Pods can be assembled from inexpensive and easily obtainable materials. Culture Domes and Growth Pods serve to reduce the possibility of contamination, variations in temperature and humidity and permit easy handling of a larger number of dishes. Do not tightly seal the Petri dishes, for example with Parafilm®, as this results in poor growth presumably due to ethylene buildup.

Condensation on Petri dish lids may occur during culture if sufficient temperature variation occurs between the lid and agar surface. Moderate amounts of condensation, i.e. fogging on the lid, are not a problem. However, excessive condensation can result in free water falling onto the culture surface, i.e. "raining", which may result in uncontrolled release of spermatozoids from antheridia. A constant temperature with in the Culture Dome or Growth Pod reduces the chances of condensation on Petri dish lids. If condensation is a problem, cultures may be grown upside down once the sowing water has been absorbed into the agar medium.