Preservation of basidiomycete strains on perlite using different protocols

• Five different protocols of preservation of basidiomycetes on perlite were tested.
• The viability of the strains were tested after 48 h, six months and one year of storage.
• The repeated freezing of the cultures was tested in three subsequent cycles.

For preservation of 31 basidiomycete strains on perlite in cryovials we used five different perlite protocols to compare their applicability in laboratories with different equipment, namely a viability of the controlled freezing device or the electric deep-freezer and liquid nitrogen supply. The viability of the strains, macromorphological characteristics and the production of laccase were tested after 48 h, six months and one year of storage in the respective device. Our results indicated that the different response to the freezing/thawing process is an intrinsic feature of the respective strain. Nevertheless, the highest viability and preservation of laccase production in our tested strains was found when we used pre-freezing to −80 °C at a freezing rate of 1 °C/min in a programmable IceCube 1800 freezer or in freezing container Mr. Frosty before storage in liquid nitrogen or at ultra-low temperature freezer at −80 °C, respectively. The two abovementioned protocols enable all tested strains to survive three successive freezing/thawing cycles without substantial reduction of growth rate. The majority of the strains also do not lose laccase production. Our results showed that direct immersion of the strains into liquid nitrogen or placing them into −80 °C without pre-freezing is not suitable for basidiomycete cryopreservation.