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Posted by Slaytonp on April 29, 2003 at 13:06:57:
In Reply to: Fungus growing in my cultures. posted by addam4208283 on April 29, 2003 at 12:02:52:
:I just wanted to know whether or not I could still use a culture that had some fungus growing in it?
:Also what can I use to stop it from growing again. I thought the vinegar was supposed to stop it but I am not sure?
:thanks in advance.
:ADAM
To be safe and prevent it from contaminating your entire area, especially if it is that "black" fungus, throw the entire thing away without opening it and start over with a fresh culture from an uncontaminated source. The spores are microscopic and will be thrust out of the spore capsules explosively. If you've already opened it, clean up the area really well and preferably move your cultures to a different area if possible. When working with medical mycology, all culturing and identifications must be done in a special chamber due to the airborn quality of the spores.
There are over 72,000 described species of fungi that are widespread in nature--soil, plants, water, air, as well as some actinomycetes, which are actually bacteria that have mycelial forms. So while vinegar may inhibit most of the common media contaminants, it might not work on everything. Some algae and bacteroids even live in steam vents, sulphuric acid and ice, so there are a lot of variable adaptations.
Be sure your yeast is fresh. With a head start, it will inhibit other fungal growth through competition.
Patty
