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Step 5Preparing to create the culture
The basic methods of algal culture have changed little over the years and the various steps in the process leading to production-scale cultures are shown in the picture.
Now we need the wire in the bill of materials. Take a piece of wire about 6" or long enough to reach to the bottom of the culture plates you are using. For Petri dishes this is obviously quite short but if you're using mayonnaise jars you'll need something long.
Using a pair of needle nose pliers make a loop in the end of the wire. Bend this at a 90 degree angle and wrap some tape around the other end to form a handle. Using pliers hold the round tip in a flame (match or candle) until the tip glows red to sterilize it. Let it cool down in the incubator.
We're going to use this tool to spread tiny samples of algae on the agar plates and allowed to grow. After a few days we'll identify some uniform populations and we'll use this tool again to gather samples from those populations and put them in the soilwater media to breed an identifiable algae strain.
Now we're going to get our algae sample. If you're using the reactor we built in Part I then you'll want to extract a small portion of that for easy handling in the incubator. Remove the bubbler assembly from the reactor. Note: It's easiest if you hold the top and turn the bottle underneath it. You'll want to have a pitcher or tall glass handy to put it in.
Now we're going to fill the Mason jar at least half way. To reduce contamination risk open the lid of the Mason jar only enough to allow easy pouring. Put the lid back on the Mason jar and place it in the incubator.
Top of the culture reactor with soilwater media and replace the bubbler. This method insures that there is a steady supply of culture media available.
Place as many Petri dishes in the incubator as you want to culture, probably 4-6 is enough. Do not remove the lids from the culture plates until you use them.
Now we have to record this strain and its heritage. Where did it come from and when?
I number my strains using a location name and a date in YYYYMMDD format for easy comparison. A '-S' suffix identifies samples and cultures from that sample are identified with '-CXX' extensions.
So a sample from the Delta Mendota canal from Jan 1, 2008 would be DM-20080101-S and the cultures from that would be identified with -CXX extension indicating which culture. Record the culture ID and other information in the lab journal.
Create a label (masking tape and pen will do) and label each of the Petri with it's culture identifier. This isn't necessarily the order in which the plates are filled but it is the sample ID the culture(s) which result will have.
Now we're ready to create our first culture. Go wash your hands thoroughly up to the elbows. Let me clarify what this means. A surgeon will scrub each surface of the hand including the sides and tips of fingers at least 10 times. That would be overkill.
Now we need the wire in the bill of materials. Take a piece of wire about 6" or long enough to reach to the bottom of the culture plates you are using. For Petri dishes this is obviously quite short but if you're using mayonnaise jars you'll need something long.
Using a pair of needle nose pliers make a loop in the end of the wire. Bend this at a 90 degree angle and wrap some tape around the other end to form a handle. Using pliers hold the round tip in a flame (match or candle) until the tip glows red to sterilize it. Let it cool down in the incubator.
We're going to use this tool to spread tiny samples of algae on the agar plates and allowed to grow. After a few days we'll identify some uniform populations and we'll use this tool again to gather samples from those populations and put them in the soilwater media to breed an identifiable algae strain.
Now we're going to get our algae sample. If you're using the reactor we built in Part I then you'll want to extract a small portion of that for easy handling in the incubator. Remove the bubbler assembly from the reactor. Note: It's easiest if you hold the top and turn the bottle underneath it. You'll want to have a pitcher or tall glass handy to put it in.
Now we're going to fill the Mason jar at least half way. To reduce contamination risk open the lid of the Mason jar only enough to allow easy pouring. Put the lid back on the Mason jar and place it in the incubator.
Top of the culture reactor with soilwater media and replace the bubbler. This method insures that there is a steady supply of culture media available.
Place as many Petri dishes in the incubator as you want to culture, probably 4-6 is enough. Do not remove the lids from the culture plates until you use them.
Now we have to record this strain and its heritage. Where did it come from and when?
I number my strains using a location name and a date in YYYYMMDD format for easy comparison. A '-S' suffix identifies samples and cultures from that sample are identified with '-CXX' extensions.
So a sample from the Delta Mendota canal from Jan 1, 2008 would be DM-20080101-S and the cultures from that would be identified with -CXX extension indicating which culture. Record the culture ID and other information in the lab journal.
Create a label (masking tape and pen will do) and label each of the Petri with it's culture identifier. This isn't necessarily the order in which the plates are filled but it is the sample ID the culture(s) which result will have.
Now we're ready to create our first culture. Go wash your hands thoroughly up to the elbows. Let me clarify what this means. A surgeon will scrub each surface of the hand including the sides and tips of fingers at least 10 times. That would be overkill.
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