Back to: Propagating Seedstring from Gametophytes
Biofilm – the film left by the buildup of organic matter, often seen inside pipes and on the walls of culture tanks.
Biofouling – similar to fouling, but specifically refers to live organisms.
Biosafety Cabinet – Incoming and outgoing air are both filtered; this protects the user from harmful fumes and also creates a sterile environment for samples.
Clean – The surface is able to be sterilized with ethanol, but the air may not be free of airborne marine contaminants.
Clonal Gametophyte Culture – All gametophytes are the same sex and are genetic clones.
Compound Microscope – Like a dissecting microscope, a compound microscope has an objective positioned above the sample. However, the light source typically comes from below the sample. Compound microscopes can achieve very high levels of magnification.
Contamination – Any organism in a culture that is not the organism you are trying to grow. Some bacteria are essential to healthy growth. If they are balanced, they do not cause an issue, but they may be considered contamination if they are outcompeting the cultured organism.
Dissecting Microscope – Dissecting microscope has an objective positioned above the sample and has a larger stage. The distance between the objective and the stage is also higher, so it’s easier to fit a larger sample underneath. A dissecting scope is used to view larger samples and typically needs a light source from the same direction as the objective.
Epiphytes – algae that grow on other algae and are not parasitic. The brown algae, slip gut, or ectocarpus, is a common example of this.
Fouling – anything on gametophytes, sporophytes, or grow lines that is undesired.
Fragmentation – The process of breaking up gametophyte chunks into smaller, homogenous pieces. This is done at certain times to promote better growth as well as before painting gametophytes.
Fume Hood – Air is sucked from the cabinet to a vent outside; this protects the user from harmful fumes but does not create a sterile environment because incoming air is unfiltered.
Inverted Microscope – An inverted microscope, as it sounds, is an inverted setup from a compound microscope where the objective is underneath the sample and the light source is above. This is ideal for viewing samples that are attached to the bottom of the vessel, like in petri dishes or containers.
Laminar Flow Hood – Filtered air is pumped from the top or back of the cabinet outward; this creates a sterile working environment but does not protect the user from hazardous fumes.
Leaching – the process of a soluble chemical dissolving out of a product.
Light Cycle – the duration of the light and dark periods for your lights. A light cycle that is twelve hours of light and 12 hours of dark is denoted as “12:12 L:D” or “12L:12D”.
Media – A solution that is used to grow cells, like gametophytes.
Micron – short for micrometer (um) and equivalent to one millionth of a meter. Microns are used to describe mesh size of filters as well as to measure microscopically.
Micropipette – uses a dial, plunger, and a plastic tip to take up accurate volumes of liquid. Micropipettes are considered very accurate and can be used for dispensing extremely low volumes.
Microscopic – Anything too small to see without a microscope. Gametophytes are often referred to as the microscopic stage, because in the wild they are too small to see with the naked eye, even though in culture they are large enough to see.
Mixed Sex Gametophyte Culture – Gametophytes are a mix of sexes and genetics.
Clonal Gametophyte Culture – All gametophytes are the same sex and are genetic clones.
Single Sex Gametophyte Culture – All gametophytes are the same sex but not genetic clones.
PAR – Photosynthetically active radiation. The wavelengths of light within the visible range of 400-700 nanometers, which are used for photosynthesis.
Parthenogenetic Sporophyte – An embryonic sporophyte that develops without meiosis. These sporophytes typically have odd shapes when compared with sporophytes that develop from a fertilized egg.
Pasteur Pipette – a larger plastic pipette with a squeezable bulb that is used to fill the pipette.
Pasteurization – Pasteurization only kills harmful microorganisms and typically only includes heat.
Seed Bank – A collection of gametophyte cultures or “seed”.
Single Sex Gametophyte Culture – All gametophytes are the same sex but not genetic clones.
Solution – A homogenous mixture of chemicals dissolved in a solvent.
Sorus Tissue – The reproductive material of kelp. This appears as a dark strip in the center of a sugar kelp blade.
Stereo Microscope – A stereo microscope is like a dissecting microscope but is easier to position because the objective and eyepiece are on a movable boom.
Sterile – Both the surfaces and air are free of contaminants.
Sterilization – Sterilization kills all microorganisms and typically includes a combination of heat, pressure, chemicals, or filtering.
Vegetative State -The state of gametophytes while they are being held in non-reproductive growth conditions. This can be a period of rapid growth for building stock biomass or preservation for gene banking.