Laura Smith
Cloning shiitake mushrooms is a process that involves creating an identical copy of the mushroom by using a piece of its living tissue or flesh from the mushroom's fruiting body. While it is possible to clone shiitake mushrooms on cardboard, it is generally recommended to use agar to avoid contamination. The process begins by wiping down the outer surface of the mushroom with alcohol to ensure no debris crosses into the mushroom once it is dissected. The mushroom is then carefully torn open to expose the inner tissue, which should be free from contamination. A scalpel is heated and sterilized to remove a sample of the mushroom fruiting body, which is then placed on an agar plate. The plate is sealed and stored at room temperature away from direct sunlight, and the growth is observed. While cloning shiitake mushrooms can be done at home without expensive equipment, it is important to work quickly and maintain sterile conditions to avoid contamination.
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What You'll Learn
Cloning shiitake mushrooms from store-bought mushrooms
Choosing the Right Mushrooms
Select fresh, young shiitake mushrooms that are still in their button stage. The mushrooms should be as fresh as possible, as older mushrooms may have less vigorous mycelium.
Sterilization and Tissue Collection
Before beginning, ensure that your work area and equipment are sterile to prevent contamination. Collect a small tissue sample from the centre of the mushroom stem. Ripping the mushroom in half can expose the inner tissue for collection.
Agar Preparation and Inoculation
Prepare a sterile nutrient-rich agar solution in a petri dish. Agar is a jelly-like substance derived from red algae that provides the ideal environment for mycelium growth. Place the collected tissue sample onto the agar and allow the mycelium to grow until you have a pure culture.
Transfer to Grain
Once you have a healthy mycelium culture on the agar, transfer it to sterilized grain to continue the growth process. Maintain sterile conditions throughout this step to prevent contamination.
Long-Term Cultivation
After a successful transfer to grain, you can continue to cultivate your cloned shiitake mushroom culture. Eventually, you may be able to induce the formation of mushroom fruiting bodies from your culture.
Cloning shiitake mushrooms from store-bought specimens requires patience, attention to detail, and a basic understanding of mycology. While challenging, it is a valuable skill for any hobby mycologist to learn and can lead to interesting genetic variations in your mushroom cultures.
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Using agar to clone shiitake mushrooms
Cloning shiitake mushrooms using agar is a great way to avoid contamination. To get started, you'll need to gather the right supplies and prepare a sterile workspace. Here's a step-by-step guide:
Supplies and Workspace Preparation:
- Agar plates: Pre-poured agar plates are convenient and provide a nutrient-rich medium for mycelium growth. These are available ready-to-use and are specially produced for mushroom growing.
- Fresh, healthy shiitake mushroom: Choose a relatively large fruiting body with desirable traits that you want to clone. Young mushrooms colonize faster, but thicker, larger mushrooms provide more tissue for sampling.
- Sterile workspace: Use a laminar flow hood or a still air box (SAB) to minimize contamination.
- Sterilizing agents: Isopropyl alcohol, bleach solution, or other sanitizing agents to clean surfaces and tools.
- Sterile tools: A scalpel or X-Acto knife for tissue removal and transfer.
- Gloves: Disposable gloves to maintain sterility during the process.
- Parafilm or masking tape: Used for sealing agar plates to prevent contamination.
Cloning Process:
- Clean and sanitize your workspace, including your laminar flow hood or SAB.
- Using the sterilized scalpel, carefully remove a small piece of internal mushroom tissue, about the size of a grain of rice. You can scrape or cut the tissue from the fleshiest and innermost part of the mushroom, such as the interior of the cap or the stem. Avoid using gill tissue as it may be contaminated with spores.
- Transfer the tissue to the center of an agar plate. Some people place more than one piece of tissue on the plate to increase their chances of success.
- Immediately close and seal the agar plate with parafilm or masking tape to minimize the risk of contamination.
- Label the plate with the date and mushroom strain.
- Store the sealed agar plate in a dark, temperature-controlled environment, ideally around 70-75°F (21-24°C).
By following these steps, you can successfully clone shiitake mushrooms using agar. Remember to work carefully and maintain a sterile environment to minimize the risk of contamination throughout the process.
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Using cardboard to clone shiitake mushrooms
Firstly, you will need to obtain fresh mushrooms with particularly white and fluffy mycelium already developing at the base of the stems. This will give you the best chance of success. Next, cut a disk of brown corrugated cardboard to fit the bottom of your plates or jars. Wet the cardboard, pour off the excess moisture, and then PC as usual. Then, use the stem butt mushroom method to grow mushroom spawn on the cardboard. You can then use the spawn to inoculate larger mushroom-growing bags filled with cardboard.
It is important to note that not all species of mushrooms will grow on cardboard. Additionally, cardboard that contains glossy or coloured inks should not be used. If you are a first-time mushroom grower, it may be easier to use spawn plugs or another spawn-containing substrate.
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Sterilisation techniques to prevent contamination
To clone shiitake mushrooms, it is important to follow sterilisation techniques to prevent contamination. Here are some detailed steps to achieve this:
Firstly, ensure your workspace is sterile and clean. This is crucial as contamination is a common issue when cloning mushrooms. Any discolouration (green, black, or yellow) on the mycelium indicates contamination. To prevent this, always wear clean gloves and handle tools with sterile utensils. Maintain an ideal temperature range of 70-80°F during incubation, and avoid excess moisture as it encourages the growth of contaminants.
Secondly, sterilise the grain spawn and the substrate. The grain spawn, being nutrient-rich, is prone to contamination by unwanted microorganisms. Sterilisation can be achieved by applying high temperatures above 121°C, using an autoclave, or through chemical methods. This ensures that all microorganisms are eliminated, creating an aseptic environment for the shiitake mushrooms, which are sensitive to contaminants.
Thirdly, consider using pasteurisation techniques in conjunction with sterilisation. While sterilisation eliminates all microorganisms, pasteurisation controls and reduces them, creating optimal conditions for mushroom growth. For example, wood chips used for shiitake mushrooms can be pasteurised to reduce competitors while preserving a structure conducive to mycelium colonisation.
Additionally, when extracting tissue samples for cloning, ensure sterile conditions to reduce contamination risks. Place the samples immediately into a nutrient-rich medium where healthy mycelium can thrive and colonise quickly, minimising opportunities for contaminants.
Finally, periodically introduce new spores to maintain genetic purity and vitality. This can be done by combining spores with cloned genetics to introduce fresh DNA while preserving favourable traits of the original strain. This technique can help extend the lifespan of the mushroom strain and create an ongoing harvest cycle.
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Choosing the right type of mushroom to clone
Cloning mushrooms involves removing a piece of mushroom tissue and placing it on a nutrient-rich growing medium. The goal is to create an identical copy of a mushroom with desirable traits like yield, speed of growth, colour, substrate suitability, and disease resistance. While you can clone any edible and medicinal wild mushrooms you come across, some mushrooms are easier to clone than others.
When choosing which type of mushroom to clone, it is important to consider the growth stage of the mushroom. Mushrooms that are still in their button stage are ideal for cloning because they grow fast and can double in size daily. It is also important to work with young mushrooms to ensure the tissue, mycelium, and growing medium remain uncontaminated.
Thick, fleshy mushrooms like shiitake, king oyster, and cremini mushrooms are the easiest to work with when cloning. These mushrooms are hardy, fast-growing, and less fussy. They are also less likely to be contaminated during the cloning process.
While it is possible to clone store-bought shiitake mushrooms, it is important to note that the success rate may be low, and contamination is a high risk. Store-bought mushrooms may be older and less vigorous, and they may not have undergone sterilisation. To increase the chances of success, it is recommended to dip the mushroom in a sterilising solution prior to cloning and work in sterile conditions.
Overall, when choosing the right type of mushroom to clone, consider the growth stage, the thickness and fleshiness of the mushroom, and the potential risks of contamination. Thick, fleshy, and young mushrooms like shiitake and king oyster are ideal choices for cloning due to their fast growth and lower risk of contamination.
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Frequently asked questions
Cloning shiitake mushrooms involves removing a piece of mushroom tissue and placing it on a nutrient-rich growing medium. The best way to do this is by using agar, which is one of the best ways to avoid mushroom contamination.
First, wipe down the outer surface of the mushroom with alcohol on a paper towel. Carefully tear open the mushroom to expose the inner tissue, ensuring it is free from contamination. Heat sterilise a scalpel and use it to remove a sample of the mushroom fruiting body. Place the sample on the centre of an agar plate, replace the lid, seal the plate, label it, and store it at room temperature away from direct sunlight.
Shiitake mushrooms are thick and fleshy, and are therefore easier to clone than other mushrooms. They are also hardy, fast-growing, and less fussy.
