A decision-based key to determine the most appropriate protocol for the preservation of fungi

The long-term preservation of valuable fungal cultures can be achieved in several ways and the choice of methodology can be problematical. Firstly, there is the decision whether to use a public service culture collection or 'in-house' facilities. Secondly, the wide variety of preservation methods available often leads to confusion about which protocol(s) are best suited for specific fungi. No method can be universally applied to all fungi. Some species are notoriously difficult to preserve, whilst other fungi can be preserved by almost any method. A decision-based key has been devised, which uses questions related to fungal characters and user facilities and economics to determine the most appropriate method for long-term preservation of cultures. This key should facilitate the decisions of microbiologists when considering preservation of important fungal cultures.