Mycology Practice Exam

In slide culture, the fungus is grown on a small patch of agar that sits on a glass slide, with a sterile coverslip laid over it. As the mycelium expands, it grows against and adheres to the moist underside of the coverslip, which is then examined under a microscope. This setup keeps the growth thin, well-ordered, and easy to study the hyphal structures and reproductive features. So the portions of the mycelium adhere to the underside of the coverslip after incubation. The other surfaces (the top of the agar, the center of the slide, or the bare glass) are not where the specimen is purposefully anchored for microscopic observation.