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Microbe Analysis Quinn Luthy
In the agar plate that I cultured, there were several
different spots of pigmented microbes, the two most
notable spots on the plate are most likely a fungus. I
suspect this because they have a recognizable
pattern; an indication that the cells are organized. The
microbes also have a whitish, fanning tree pattern from
the center of each of their masses. I believe that I have
cultured wooddecay fungus, specifically white rot
fungus. White rot causes a slow acting decay in which
effected wood looks just like stable wood, the fungus
cannot digest cellulose until the late stages of decay,
or when a tree is already dead. I cultured this fungus
from the inside bark of an old cottonwood tree in a
moist area. These are prime locations for white rot to
grow. I suspect that because I did not do a proper soil
suspension when I was culturing my microbes, the
predicted soil microbes did not grow on my agar plate.
Trees have two types of woods, heartwood (which
transports all of the water throughout the tree) and sapwood (which protects the heartwood)
when the outer sapwood of the tree becomes infected with white rot, it is a death sentence.
Heartwood can regrow if the sapwood stays intact, but if sapwood is infected, the heartwood is
in essence, totally exposed to the environment. The purpose of white rot is totally parasitic, the
fungus takes several years to build up enough energy to flower and disperse spores to the
surrounding tree community. I suggest that the white rot around Animas High School be
removed before it flowers and kills more trees.