GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

CULTURING MUSHROOM MYCELIUM ON AGAR MEDIA 93
Figure 70. Glove boxes are considered "old tech".
To retrofit a glove box into a laminar flow hood,
simply cut out the back panel, replace with a similarly
sized HEPA filter and build a 6"-deep plenum
behind the filter. A squirrel cage blower is mounted
on top, forcing air into the plenum. Air is forced
through the filter. Downstream from the filter, a sterile
wind flows in which inoculations can be
conducted.
With the micron filters mounted horizontally,
and facing the cultivator, every movement is
prioritized by degree of cleanliness. The
cleanest articles remain upstream, the next
cleanest downstream in second position, etc.
The cultivator's hands are usually furthest
downwind from the media and cultures.
Starting a Mushroom Strain
by Cloning
The surest method of starting a mushroom
strain is by cloning. Cloning means that a piece
of pure, living flesh is excised from the mush-
room and placed into a sterilized, nutrient enriched
medium. If the transfer technique is
successful, the cultivator succeeds in capturing
a unique strain, one exhibiting the particular
characteristics of the contributing mushroom.
These features, the expression thereof, are
called the phenotype. By cloning, you capture
the phenotype. Later, under the proper cultural
conditions, and barring mutation, these same
features are expressed in the subsequently
grown mushrooms.
Several sites on the mushroom are best for
taking clones. First, a young mushroom, preferably
in "button" form, is a better candidate
than an aged specimen. Young mushrooms are
in a state of frenzied cell division. The clones
from young mushrooms tend to be more vigorous.
Older mushrooms can be cloned but have
a higher contamination risk, and are slower to
recover from the shock of transfer. Two locations
resulting in a high number of successful
clones are: the area directly above the gills, and
the interior tissue located at the base of the
stem. The stem base, being in direct contact
with the ground, is often the entry point
through which larvae tunnel, carrying with them
other microorganisms. For this reason, I prefer
the genetically rich area giving rise to the gills
and their associated spore-producing cells, the
basidia.
The procedure for cloning a mushroom is
quite simple. Choose the best specimen possible,
and cut away any attached debris. Using
a damp paper towel, wipe the mushroom clean.
Lay the specimen on anew sheet of paper towel.
Flame-sterilize a sharp scalpel until it is red hot.
Cool the scalpel tip by touching the nutrient
agar medium in a petri dish.This petri dish will
be the same dish into which you transfer the
mushroom tissue. Carefully tear the mushroom
apart from the base, up the stem, and through
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