Quality Control

Culture Storage

All pot cultures (approx. 1300 at any given time) from temperate climates are stored in a walk-in cold room, which is maintained at a constant temperature of 3.2 degrees F. All cultures are stored in sealed zip-loc bags, with culture codes written on the bag so that individual cultures can be readily identified when stacked. Cultures are organized alphabetically for quick searches.

Greenhouse

Procedures in the greenhouse focus on maximizing productivity of cultures (optimal relationship between plant growth, mycorrhiza biomass, and fungal sporulation) and insuring that these cultures remain free of contaminating microbes and pests that might spread particulates from one culture to another or be a detriment to plant health.

Laboratory

Spores are extracted from between 10-15 active pot cultures. Spores are extracted in the lab, after which they are transported in petri dishes to a refrigerator in the microscopy lab. All of these cultures are examined at one of the stereo-microscope workstations and written notes are later entered into the INVAM database.