VIEW ARTICLE

Use of the Sykes-Moore Tissue-Culture Chamber and the Cambion Heating-Cooling Stage for Spore Germination Research. Clinton F. Hodges, Associate Professor of Horticulture and Agronomy, Departments of Horticulture and Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames 50010; Phytopathology 64:903-905. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-64-903.

A microscopic method is described for observing spore germination and subsequent mycelial growth of fungal organisms. The method consists of placing spores within a Sykes-Moore tissue-culture chamber mounted on a Cambion heating-cooling stage. The Cambion stage is placed on a mechanical microscope stage that provides full coaxial movement of the Sykes-Moore chamber. Under these conditions, the entire contents of the chamber may be observed at × 100 to × 600. The primary advantages of the method include contamination-free observation over long periods, temp control between -10 and +40 C, and light control. It is suggested that the Sykes-Moore tissue-culture chamber, in combination with the Cambion heating-cooling stage, could be adapted to physiological and fungicide research and provide a means for improving some existing microscopic techniques.