1. Prevention of Bacterial Contamination: The primary reason for supplementing culture medium with antibiotics is to prevent bacterial contamination. Fungi and bacteria often inhabit the same environments, and when a sample is taken to culture fungi, it is likely that bacteria are also present. Antibiotics are added to selectively inhibit the growth of these bacteria, allowing the fungi to grow unimpeded.

2. Ensuring Accuracy of Results: The second reason is to ensure the accuracy of the study. If bacteria were allowed to grow in the culture, they could potentially outcompete the fungi for resources, alter the conditions of the culture medium, or even directly inhibit fungal growth. This could lead to inaccurate results in the study of the fungi. Therefore, antibiotics are used to ensure that only fungi grow in the culture, thereby maintaining the integrity of the research.

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1. Prevention of Bacterial Contamination: The primary reason for supplementing culture medium with antibiotics is to prevent bacterial contamination. Fungi and bacteria often inhabit the same environments, and when a sample is taken to culture fungi, it is likely that bacteria are also present. Antibiotics are added to selectively inhibit the growth of these bacteria, allowing the fungi to grow unimpeded.

2. Ensuring Accuracy of Results: The second reason is to ensure the accuracy of the study. If bacteria were allowed to grow in the culture, they could potentially outcompete the fungi for resources, alter the conditions of the culture medium, or even directly inhibit fungal growth. This could lead to inaccurate results in the study of the fungi. Therefore, antibiotics are used to ensure that only fungi grow in the culture, thereby maintaining the integrity of the research.

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1. Prevention of Bacterial Contamination: The primary reason for supplementing culture medium with antibiotics is to prevent bacterial contamination. Fungi and bacteria often inhabit the same environments, and when a sample is taken to culture fungi, it is likely that bacteria are also present. Antibiotics are added to selectively inhibit the growth of these bacteria, allowing the fungi to grow unimpeded.

2. Ensuring Accuracy of Results: The second reason is to ensure the accuracy of the study. If bacteria were allowed to grow in the culture, they could potentially outcompete the fungi for resources, alter the conditions of the culture medium, or even directly inhibit fungal growth. This could lead to inaccurate results in the study of the fungi. Therefore, antibiotics are used to ensure that only fungi grow in the culture, thereby maintaining the integrity of the research.

Explain why it is usually necessary to supplement culture medium with antibiotics, if it is used to culture fungi. (2 marks)

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