A Method of Preservation of Marine Fungi in Sterile Marine Water

Preservation of fungi is an essential practice of any mycologist. A method of preservation of marine fungi in sterile marine water was evaluated using 16 marine isolates. The marine fungi were isolated using Malt Extract Agar (MEA) medium at different regions of Nellore coast of Andhra Pradesh, India. The fungal strains were preserved in 120/00 sterile marine water. The preserved strains were subjected to recovery by sub culturing in MEA medium during 5 consecutive years (2015 to 2019). During all the years there was 100% recovery of the preserved fungi and moreover they were found to be morphologically identical to the original isolates. This study suggests that the modified castellany method by using marine water offers the cheap and alternative mode of preservation of marine fungi.