- Before beginning culture set up, boil ~20 wheat seeds in 1500 mL RO water from the tap for approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour (or until the seeds split open). Let cool before using. The amount of seed will depend on the types of containers you will use (see below).
- Use one of the following containers:
- new / sterile deep dish petri dishes (100 mm x 25 mm)
- clean polyethylene specimen containers with lids
- clean glass jars with petri dish top inverted over mouth of jar.
- To clean / new containers, add approximately 2-3 mL of material pipetted from an established culture. Try to collect debris near the wheat grain.
- Top off these new cultures with RO water from the tap.
- Use sterile forceps to transfer wheat to each container. Add no more than:
- 1/2 a seed per petri dish / small specimen cup (~25 mL of water)
- 1 seed per 1 L jar
- 2 seeds per 2L jar
- Cover each container loosely with lid.
- Place on counter under LED lights.
- Check containers after 24-48 hours. If water is cloudy, pipet / decant ~1/2 the water and replace with fresh RO water from the tap.
- Cultures should be good for about 2 weeks without much attention.
- Soak used containers in 10% bleach, rinse in hot water, and dry
I have been keeping about 5-7 petri dishes, 1 jar, and 2-3 specimen containers of each organism on hand…just in case something unexpected happens. The cultures should probably be replaced/restarted when there is substantial debris build up / cloudy water.