The world federation for culture collections and its activities

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 628-628
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Smith ◽  
Matthew Ryan

Authentic, well preserved living organisms are basic elements for research in the life sciences and biotechnology. They are grown and utilized in laboratories around the world and are key to many research programmes, industrial processes and training courses. They are vouchers for publications and must be available for confirmation of results, further study or reinvestigation when new technologies become available. These biological resources must be maintained without change in biological resource collections. In order to achieve best practice in the maintenance and provision of biological materials for industry, research and education the appropriate standards must be followed. Cryopreservation is often the best preservation method available to achieve these aims, allowing long term, stable storage of important microorganisms. To promulgate best practice the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD published the best practice guidelines for BRCs. The OECD best practice consolidated the efforts of the UK National Culture Collections, the European Common Access to Biological Resources and Information (CABRI) project consortium and the World Federation for Culture Collections. The paper discusses quality management options and reviews cryopreservation of fungi, describing how the reproducibility and quality of the technique is maintained in order to retain the full potential of fungi.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Juncai Ma ◽  
Linhuan Wu ◽  
İpek Kurtböke

The World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC)-MIRCEN World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM) was set up as a data centre of WFCC and UNESCO World Network of Microbiological Resources Centres (MIRCEN). The WDCM is a vehicle for networking microbial resource centres of various types of microorganisms. It also serves as an information resource for the customers of the microbial resource centres (http://www.wdcm.org/). The WDCM was established in 1966 by the late Professor V.B.D. Skerman in Australia, later moved to Japan in 1986 and since 2010 is based in China under the Directorship of Dr Juncai Ma. Current databases at the WDCM are the Culture Collections Information Worldwide (CCINFO), Global Catalogue of Microorganisms (GCM) and the WDCM Reference Strain Catalogue. In addition, Analyzer of Bio-resource citations (ABC) and Statistics on Patented Microorganisms are available (http://www.wdcm.org/databases.html). In this article the status of the GCM and its associated 10K type strain sequencing project that currently provides services to taxonomists for standard genome sequencing and annotation will be communicated.


2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Philippe Desmeth ◽  
Ipek Kurtboke

The World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) is a multidisciplinary commission of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) and a Federation within the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS). The WFCC is concerned with the collection, authentication, maintenance and distribution of cultures of microorganisms and cultured cells. Its aim is to promote and support the establishment of culture collections and related services, to provide liaison and networking between the collections and their users, to organise workshops and conferences, publications and newsletters and work to ensure the long-term perpetuation of important collections.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-98
Author(s):  
I. A. Kharchuk

Reliable preservation of microalgae cultures and creation of genetic banks of strains is one of the important tasks of modern biology. To date, 792 collections of various cultivated organisms from 76 countries are registered in the catalog of the World Federation for Culture Collections in the WDCM CCINFO database. This is the most extensive consolidated database of culture collections, which includes both well-known large collections and small repositories of research and educational institutions from all over the world. The database contains 47 algological collections and 80 collections of various microorganisms, which also include microalgae and cyanobacteria cultures. Only 30 biological collections are registered in Russia, from which only 13 contain algae strains. The most common technique of microalgae cultures storage is the method of their periodic re-sowing onto liquid media or agar. It is used in 127 collections (99 % of the total number in the catalog). Other methods used are: cryopreservation – in 33 collections (27 %), lyophilization – in 13 (11 %), L-drying – in 5 (4 %), freezing – in 19 (16 %),  and immobilization in alginate beads – in 1 (0.8 %). However, when using these methods, there is a change in morphological and functional features of cells of the cultures stored, as well as their shredding. In addition, cultures maintaining in a viable state is time-consuming and requires expensive equipment. Preservation of microalgae, transferred to the state of anhydrobiosis by dehydration, is simple and cost-effective. Anhydrobiosis is a deep and long-term inhibition of metabolism, reversible under favorable conditions; it is a quite common phenomenon in nature. The only collection in the WDCM CCINFO database that applies the method of transferring cells to a resting state (for soil algae) is the collection of algae cultures of the National University of Kyiv (ACKU WDCM 994). Many years of experiments on the transfer of microalgae to the state of anhydrobiosis allowed us to develop a method of long-term preservation of microalgae without the use of nutrient media. This technique includes cells transfer to the state of anhydrobiosis, their preservation in a dehydrated state, and subsequent removal to an active culture. In order to preserve algological biodiversity, IBSS RAS created a repository of microalgae transferred to the state of anhydrobiosis, which can be converted to active cultures if necessary. The objects of the repository were marine unicellular algae, as well as freshwater and halobic species of lower phototrophs which are perspective for biotechnology and aquaculture. The cultures were obtained as an inoculum from IBSS RAS collection of live cultures of planktonic microalgae. The algae were grown in an accumulative mode under constant lighting. The biomass was collected during cultivation of algologically pure microalgae cultures at the growth retardation or at the stationary stage. Cells were separated from the culture medium by centrifugation or by filtering them on a plankton sieve. Then the algae were dehydrated and maintained in hermetic zipper bags placed in plastic containers of 100 to 500 ml, at a temperature of +18…+21 °C in the dark in a specially equipped room. The main part of the collection is represented by strains from the phyla Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Rodophyta. The list of species, the number of isolates stored, and the information on preservation forms are provided in this article. The technological regulations for maintenance and replenishment of the storage of anhydrobiotic cultures are described. The repository is at the stage of formation. Its future lies in the fund expansion to include marine, freshwater, and halobic species. Optimization of the dehydration method will allow the transfer of microalgae belonging to different systematic phyla to the state of anhydrobiosis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
David Smith

The World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) is the largest independent global organisation representing professional individuals and culture collections which preserve and utilise biodiversity. Member collections target living microorganisms, cell lines, viruses and parts and derivatives of them. Key values are authenticity and genetic integrity of the material and validity of the information provided.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Wieland Meyer ◽  
Ian Arthur ◽  
David Ellis ◽  
Alex Kan ◽  
Sarah Kidd ◽  
...  

Currently in Australia, there are four major medical mycology culture collections that form a close collaborative network. They provide fundamental resources for diagnosis and research and are part of the World Federation of Culture Collections.


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