The National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) is a public research organization with an International vocation that operates and develops its mission in the European Research Area and internationally with a priority reference to the fields of basic and applied research in:

• Physical, Chemical and Biological Oceanography,
• Geophysics and Marine Geology,
• Experimental Geophysics and Exploration.

OGS uses its expertise in the field of Earth, Sea and Polar Sciences to contribute to the increase and dissemination of knowledge and to the solution of environmental, economic and social issues, consistent with the contents of the National Research Program (NRP) and the strategic objectives set by the European Union.
Using its own research vessel OGS Explora and other strategic and excellent infrastructures, OGS works to safeguard and enhance natural resources and the environment, to assess and prevent geological, environmental and climatic risks, to spread scientific knowledge and culture, also in collaboration with similar European and International institutes, with high-tech industries and qualified companies. The aim is to encourage the transfer of research results from the scientific to the productive world and thus contribute to the technological and socio-economic development of the country.

Collection of Sea Microorganisms – CoSMi
In OGS there is the collection of marine microorganisms called CoSMi (Collection of Sea Microorganisms) that collects numerous species of unicellular, autotrophic and heterotrophic eukaryotes, mainly due to the macro groups of diatoms, flagellates and ciliates. A distinctive feature is the presence of numerous species, mainly isolated from the Gulf of Trieste, of potentially toxic dinoflagellates and diatoms responsible of blooms. There are also species used in aquaculture and in ecotoxicology.
The mission of CoSMi, a collection launched in 1990 at the Marine Biology Laboratory (now OGS), is to isolate, identify (at the taxonomic and genetic level) and cultivate marine microorganisms to make them available to the scientific community and the world of food, pharmaceutical industry, nutraceuticals and energy.
CoSMi represents a facility of the ERIC LifeWatch and EMBRC infrastructures, it is an integral part of the BioMarine Lab, included in the ECCSEL ERIC infrastructure, and of the Gulf of Trieste observational system. The CoSMi staff is active in the dissemination and training on biodiversity issues to understand the role of microorganisms in marine environmental dynamics. CoSMi collaborates with Italian and foreign institutes and supports the experimental part of graduate and doctoral research theses.

Key persons

• Dr Marina Cabrini
  Coordinator of MAB Group (Marine Biology), Member of the General Assembly of MIRRI-IT.
• Dr Alfred Beran
  Curator of the Collection, Member of the Scientific Committee of MIRRI-IT.