Sterilize seeds with bleach

Submitted by kdorfman on Mon, 02/14/2022 - 18:37
  • Add ~1mL of bleach solution to each tube
  • Cap and shake
  • Leave tube on its side for 20-30 min, shaking periodically
  • Put upright after last shake (so seeds settle)
  • In laminar flow hood
    • Use a pipetman that has been sprayed with ethanol and air-dried in the hood
    • Remove as much bleach solution as possible from the tube
    • Add ~1 mL sterile ddH2O, mix and let seeds settle again
    • Do at least 4 washes, to dilute out the bleach
    • Add ~1mL sterile 0.1% agarose (so seeds will be suspended in the liquid)

Bleach solution for sterilizing seeds

  • 7 mL sterile ddH2O (must be freshly made!)
  • 3 mL Chlorox
  • 1 uL Triton X-100 (detergent to help get bleach into seed crevices)

0.1% agarose for plating seeds

  • 100 mL sterile ddH2O
  • 0.1 g agarose . autoclave to melt; shake bottle after autoclaving