Vital staining of fungi in pure cultures and in soil with fluorescein diacetate

A method for vital staining of fungal mycelium with fluorescein diacetate (FDA) is described. In experiments with pure cultures, good correlation was obtained between relative staining efficiency, growth rate, and respiration. FDA thus appears to be a true vital stain, in that it stains only metabolically active mycelia.

In fresh soil suspensions stained with FDA, brightly fluorescent hyphae and portions of hyphae were observed. The applicability of the method for measurement of active mycelium in the soil is discussed.