Do you see any objection in using cell culture flasks (see model in the attached pic) to grow filamentous fungi in liquid media (PDB, ME, etc ...). I can't see one but maybe there is since I couldn't find any report of people using them to grow fungi. Would use them for the possibility to stack them and the increased media surface.
Would be happy to have your opinions/comments.
They will grow but why do you need to grow them in tissue culture flasks., it is better to grow them in shake flasks as they need aeration for optimum growth.
Thanks for your response. Even in glass bootles I woulf grow them static. I'd like to choose this option if possible for reasons of place. I could stack thes flasks much easier than glass bottles.
The tap of these flasks is equipped with a 0.22 µm filter that allows O2/moisture exchange
Fungus can grow in flasks or any where else, in stationary culture. However, these flasks are very expensive and are primarily meant for tissue culture. I am not sure, if you have any special reason to use T75 or bigger for fungal culture. Fungi grow very well in simple Erlenmeyer or baffled Erlenmeyer flask, under shaking condition.
Yes, you can. It may different from fungus to fungus. I used 500 ml flask to grow a pathogen Fusicladium effusum, know as Pecan scab on PDB media. I used a plug and plunge method, place it in a shaker with suitable condition. A mass of fungus will grow in two weeks and ready for DNA extraction.
Wow, what an interesting discussion. I am kind of wondering why use an expensive supply to grow the fungus while cheaper method can be used? Fugus can definitely grow in T75 with regular medium since we try very hard, using antimycotic and sterile condition under hood, to avoid fungal contamination all the time.
Where do you get your Schott bottles ? Here I find the plastic cell culture flask much cheaper than glass shotts (eventough they are not reusable). I'm not shure which is exactly the most economical solution.
If easy stacking and storage is desired, I would suggest using 125 mm petri dishes with 20-25 ml of growth media. They are very cheap and are good for fungal growth.
Dear Pierre-Marie Allard,
U have developed new method to grow fungi. Most researchers would use Erlenmeyer flask to grow fungi. For maintain the fungi, ppl usually use petri dish to store as described by Sohail Qazi.
I grew Rhizopus spp in 250 ml flask with shaking condition. The fungi turn into pellet form.
Just wondering if using ur method , will the Rhizopus turn in pellet shape.
Thank for sharing the information.
Thank you all for your constructive comments. Evectively cost might be the problem of this method: a flask is ca. 3 times cheaper than a Shott media bottle but it isn't reusable. Nevertheless the possibility to stack these cell culture flask and the fact they are horizontal would give an interesting ratio of mycelium in contact with the air/space occupied. (for fungi growing without shaking).
Again thanks for the feedback !
Surface growth in bottles like that has been the traditional way to grow fungi since the 19th century. The trouble is that results from different flasks are not always reproducible, especially once sporulation starts. As other people have said, some form of submerged culture is best - either in shaker flasks or in Kluyver flasks which were originally developed for the submerged culture of fungi.
If you have a nearby glassblower, it shouldn't be too expensive to convert conical flasks into Kluyver flasks. In the attached photo, air (or argon or another gas for anaerobic growth) is blown in through the sidearm - in this case sterile cottonwool is being used as a filter. You don't need compressed air, an aquarium pump is good enough. The air flow is broken into tiny bubbles giving a good KLa and mixing. Choose a conical flask suitable for the culture volume - it's not a good idea to fill them more than 50% v/v, and use a couple of drops of antifoam if you're using a rich medium.
From my experience I found 500 mL /1000 mL(as needed) Erlenmeyer flask to grow on PDB media using a cotton plug covered with aluminium foil to prevent further contamination from hand during inoculation, place it in a shaker with suitable condition. For me it takes 22 days to get epothilone from a new edophytes isolated in our lab. Very economic way to get sufficient culture
- Badges
- Science topic