Rutgers Save the Bats Project

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      • Testing multiple VOCs and Temperature against P. destructans
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      • The Effects of Spore Dilution and Quantity of VOC on the Growth of P. destructans
      • Using Fragrance Diffusers to Distribute our VOC
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August 10, 2017 by Bennett Lab

The Effects of Spore Dilution and Quantity of VOC on the Growth of P. destructans

Since many of our past experiments focused on the effect our VOC had on mycelial plugs of P.destructans, in this experiment we wanted to shift our focus on the effect our VOC had on the spores of P.destructans. This experiment used our VOC at various parts per million against a dilution of spores going from 0, -1, -2, -3, and -4.  We placed duplicate plates, containing the appropriate dilution of spores, inside a mason jar and inoculated the inside wall of the mason jar with the appropriate ppm of our VOC.

This experiment was placed in the incubator for three weeks at 10˚C with ~30% humidity.

After the three weeks, we removed the plates and the results were as follows:


The results indicate that lower than the previously identified 5 ppm, was active against the P. destructans. The results labeled with an * was not expected. We suspect there was either difficulty with the VOC overcoming the spores, that the VOC dissipated more quickly in those jars, or that there was a human error when inoculating the jars with our VOC. The last suspected reason is most likely due to the very small quantity that needed to be placed in each jar.

Dilutions of spores from 0 (left) to -4 (right)
Spore dilutions and parts per million of VOC in each mason jar
Mason jars placed in the incubator containing the spore plates and proper VOC quantity at 10˚C for three weeks
Set up of the mason jars in the incubator
Here we can see the growth comparison after three weeks between the highest concentration of spores and no VOC exposure (left) versus the lowest concentration of spores and highest ppm of our VOC (right).

Filed Under: Research Updates

Research Updates

  • Using Fragrance Diffusers to Distribute our VOC
  • The Effects of Spore Dilution and Quantity of VOC on the Growth of P. destructans
  • Large Scale Exposure of our VOC on P. destructans
  • Testing multiple VOCs and Temperature against P. destructans

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