OK, so over the years you run into a print that just wont fruit, everything seems normal about it but it seems really resistant to fruiting. I got thinking about this. Could it be that a mechanism to insure genetic diversity was responsible for this? Maybe. Maybe in a wild or near wild strain this could be prevelent in some lines. In a highly selected line maybe we have reached a point of inbreeding depression. Never heard of this discussed, but nature really dislikes things that lack genetic diversity. So what can we do to save the genetics, and below is something I hope to experiment with and see what happens. Now I could follow the accepted method of growing identifying out monosporal isolates, but god damn what a pia that is. So down and dirty breeding, streaking from 2 different prints on the same plate, or I think what may work better is to mix them together in a small quantity of water and then streak to agar. Ideally this would be a small amount of each prints spores, diluted to maximize randomized matings. Will it work, no clue, but it makes sense, at least to me.
I'm in the front row! Are you going to do two domesticated strains? Or a domesticated and a wild to add the diversity you're looking for?
I think both would work. But I don't have any wild cube prints to play with so they will be domesticated strains. Maybe I can sucker you into trying this as well. Results wouldn't be conclusive mind you, but I am ok with empirical evidence.
I'm down! Maybe if I get this wild one to fruit, I can use a clean, very wild, print. Fingers crossed. If not I have BM, that's still pretty wild as well. I can send you one if you want.
So what do you think would be better to put the diluted spore solution onto a plate with Ivan? Loop or sterile swab?
I was referring to getting the spore solution streaked onto the plate. Will a loop do that well? I dunno, I just got one, so I'm not real savvy..
It's on! I think you know what you got there. Any questions, just ask. I'm gonna use AA+ with BM rust...I'll let you know when I get some plates together this weekend.
So just for the hell of it, I mixed up some AA+ spores with some Blue Magnolia Rust, swabbed two plates with the solution. We'll see...
I did this with the gt's and ksss and got some sweet lookin fruits.. Def noticed traits from both strains..
This was a fail. I'm not sure what happened, bad agar work probably. I got some plates in jars, and they greened up on me. Blah. Might try it again one day in a different way. Maybe straight into grain.