The Sordaria Genetics BioKit® includes: Sordaria fimicola Plate Culture (wild type) Sordaria fimicola Plate Culture (mutant type) 4 Bottles Sordaria Crossing Agar Metal Scalpel Coverslips Microscope Slides 20 Sterile Petri Dishes Instructional Transparency Toothpicks Autoclave Disposal Bag

Carolina Teacher Tips QUESTION: How do I know when my Sordaria plate is ready to use? ANSWER: Use a wooden toothpick to scrape a few perithecia from the plate periphery, where the 2 strains have grown together. Place the perithecia on a microscope slide, add a drop of water, and gently press down on them with a coverslip. The perithecia should break open with gentle pressure and you should see asci with spores (they resemble bubblegum balls in a wrapper). You should also see a color difference between the 2 spore types in their crossover arrangement. Here are some signs the Sordaria asci are not ready to be used: You use a lot of pressure to break open the perithecia (the black spheres). The spores are greenish in color. You only see darl, sac-like perithecia and no asci with spores. If the culture is not ready, continue to incubate the plate at 25° C (77° F) and repeat the testing process until the asci mature and rupture easily on the slide. If the culture is still not ready on Friday, the plate can be refrigerated over the weekend. Allow the plate and culture to come to room temperature before rechecking on Monday.

Intermediate - Easy to perform; requires some basic training in microbiology.

A cross of the wild-type Sordaria strain with the mutant tan strain is made. Hybrid asci are produced containing 4 dark- and 4 light-colored ascospores. Tetrad analysis is used to calculate the gene to centromere distance in map units for the mutant tan gene.

The exercise requires about 10 to 14 days from setup of cross plates to completion. Requires the use of a compound microscope. This kit is designed for a class of 30 students. With instructions.

Kit contains coupon for prepaid delivery of perishable materials. Please return coupon at least 2 weeks prior to the requested delivery date to ensure prompt delivery.