BioRegional Lab

The BioRegional Lab provides practical facilities for applied mycology, ecological restoration, soil analysis, and community science. The lab supports the Refungium project, Farming with Fungi programme, woodland surveys, culture work, and training. It is equipped for microscopy, sterile technique, field sampling, media preparation, and molecular analysis.

Microscopy Suite

OMAX 40×–2500× Phase Contrast Trinocular Biological Microscope

  • Phase-contrast module

  • LED illumination

  • Trinocular port for imaging

  • Suitable for spores, hyphae, tissue sections, stains, and slide-based diagnostics

AmScope SM-4 Trinocular Stereo Microscope (3.5×–90×)

  • Zoom stereo system for macro-scale fungal structures

  • 150 W halogen ring light

  • Double-arm boom stand

  • 10 MP USB C-mount camera

Microscopy reagents and materials

  • Melzer-type iodine reagent

  • KOH solutions

  • Congo Red

  • Lactophenol cotton blue

  • Ink–vinegar mountant

  • Distilled water, immersion oil

  • Glass slides, coverslips, slide boxes

  • Calibration slide

  • Digital imaging workstation

Sterile Culture & Media Preparation

Clean-air workspace

  • HEPA-filtered environment for sterile technique

  • Dedicated area for inoculation and plating

Agar media and components

  • MEA, PDA, and nutrient media

  • Materials for custom agar preparation (malt extract, glucose, yeast extract, peptone, minerals, selective additives)

Culture containers & consumables

  • Autoclavable Petri dishes

  • Polypropylene culture jars

  • Parafilm and sealing films

  • Test tubes and racks

Glassware & sample prep tools

  • Media bottles, flasks, beakers

  • Pipettes and sterile tips

  • Scalpels, forceps, inoculation loops

Sterilisation

  • Pressure-cooker autoclave equivalent

  • Bunsen burner

  • 70% ethanol, isopropanol

  • Sterile gloves, wipes, swabs

Field Survey & Ecological Monitoring

Field optics

  • Hand lenses / jeweller’s loupes (10× and 20×)

Identification resources

  • FSC field guides for woodland fungi

  • FSC guides for lichens, trees, and vascular plants

Sampling equipment

  • Vials, tubes, sterile sampling bags

  • Voucher specimen boxes

  • Field notebooks and labels

Survey tools

  • GPS-enabled devices

  • Thermometer, hygrometer, basic weather indicators

Soil analysis tools

  • Soil moisture meter (via Farming Connect)

  • High-precision pH tester (via Farming Connect)

  • Materials for preparing microbial biofertilisers and soil slurries

Chemicals & Reagents

For culture and microscopy

  • Agar-agar

  • Media-grade sugars and extracts

  • pH buffers

  • KOH

  • H₂O₂

  • Standard stains and mounting media

For soil and biofertiliser work

  • Fermentation inputs

  • Mineral additives

  • Sterile containers and measuring equipment

Bento Lab – Portable DNA Analysis

The BioRegional Lab includes a fully equipped Bento Lab, providing compact, portable molecular biology capacity for fungal barcoding and environmental DNA work.

Integrated modules

  • Microcentrifuge

  • PCR thermocycler (ITS and other marker amplification)

  • Gel electrophoresis chamber and power supply

  • Blue-light transilluminator

  • Digital control interface

Consumables and molecular materials

  • PCR tubes and strip tubes

  • Microcentrifuge tubes

  • Sterile pipette tips

  • Agarose powder

  • DNA stain compatible with blue light

  • Loading dye

  • DNA ladders

  • Nuclease-free water

  • PCR master mix and buffers

  • ITS primers (and other commonly used fungal primer sets)

Extraction materials

  • Lysis buffers

  • Spin-column kits

  • Ethanol, isopropanol

Accessories

  • Micropipettes

  • Tube racks

  • Heat block / water bath (as required)

  • Blue-light protective shield

Applications

  • DNA barcoding of fungi

  • Confirmation of morphological identifications

  • Environmental sample screening

  • On-site verification during field surveys

  • Community science training

General Laboratory Infrastructure

  • HEPA filtration and clean-air movement

  • Shelving and incubation space

  • Digital workstation for microscopy and sequencing workflows

  • Precision scales, thermometers, timers

  • Storage for consumables and reagents

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