When you start a new job, or employ a new member of staff, checks are carried out. Employers usually ask for references, and evidence of qualifications. New recruits may even be asked to show their passport of driving license.
All these checks are carried out to ensure that new recruits are who they say they are and that they are qualified to do the job that they have been appointed to. So why should you be any less careful about the strains that you work with in the laboratory? After all, discovering, that your cultures have become contaminated or strain drift has occurred can ruin years of hard work.
Our culture collection curator, Dr Samantha Law, has written a brief and light-hearted guide to the maintenance of microorganisms. The booklet, titled “Do I know you?” highlights the pitfalls of repeated sub culturing, and outlines the basic steps you can take to avoid strain drift, and make sure that you know the strains that you are working with in the laboratory.
You can download a copy of our guide here.
Published: 04 Feb 2021
