Five-year cryopreservation at -80 °C of edible and medicinal basidiomycetes by wheat grain technique.

This research has focused on basidiomycete cryopreservation at -80 °C and developed a cryopreservation method based on the use of hard or medium-hard endosperm wheat grains as a mycelial carrier for cryopreservation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mycelial viability of edible and medicinal basidiomycetes, using 13 strains of Agaricus spp. and eight strains of non-Agaricus spp.

Cryopreservation at -75°C of Agaricus subrufescens on wheat grains with sucrose.

Agaricus subrufescens is a basidiomycete which is studied because of its medicinal and gastronomic importance; however, less attention has been paid to its preservation. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of sucrose addition to substrate and cryotube on the viability of Agaricus subrufescens cryopreserved at -20°C and at -75°C for one and two years. Zero, 10% or 20% sucrose was added to potato dextrose agar or wheat grain.

Cryopreservation at -20 and -70 °C of Pleurotus ostreatus on Grains.

Alternative substrates for cryopreservation at -20 °C have been little explored for basidiomycetes and could bring new possibilities of lower cost cryopreservation. Nevertheless, freezing temperatures between -15 and -60 °C are very challenging because they frequently result in cryoinjuries. The objective of this study was to evaluate substrates associated to cryoprotective agents for Pleurotus ostreatus cryopreservation at -20 or -70 °C in order to develop alternative techniques for basidiomycete cryopreservation.