WDCM Online Workshop of Global Catalogue of Microorganisms

Established in the 1960s, WFCC-MIRCEN World Data Centre for Microorganisms is a vehicle for networking of 815 microbial resource centers from 78 countries.

WDCM launched the Global Catalogue of Microorganisms (GCM) project in 2012. GCM program aims to provide a globally uniform data warehouse for valuable microbial resources scattered in various culture collections and in the hands of the scientists around the world. Currently, 146 microbial resource collection agencies in 51 countries and regions have officially participated in the program, providing effective data support for all aspects of physical resources of microorganisms such as gathering, collection, transnational transfer, academic and commercial applications, and benefit sharing, and offering the most important support to the implementation and enforcement of the Convention on Biological Diversity in the field of microorganisms.

On the basis of GCM international cooperation program, WDCM launched GCM2.0 international cooperation program — Global Microbial Type Strain Genome and Microbiome Sequencing Project — for complete coverage of microbial genomes, and established cooperation network for genome sequencing and function exploring of microbial resources covering 22 major culture collections in more than 16 countries, which is expected to complete genome sequencing of more than 10,000 microbial type strains, establish a set of International standard system in microbial resource sharing and exploration, and set up a globally authoritative reference database and data analysis platform of microbiome.

Since 2011, WDCM Symposium has been held over 10 times. WDCM will hold online workshop of Global Catalogue of Microorganisms on December 16, 2021. In the online workshop, microbiologists from culture collections and related fields are invited to discuss related research questions based on Global Catalogue of Microorganisms and Global Microbial Type Strain Genome and Microbiome Sequencing. Future cooperation between culture collections and microbiologists will be promoted by providing free sequencing and high-quality data analysis.

You are invited to attend the workshop on December 16, 2021. Scan the QR code below or send email to Jianyuan Zhang (zhangjy@im.ac.cn) to register for the workshop.

Dr. Ipek Kurtboke
President of World Federation of Culture Collections

Dr. Juncai Ma
Director of WFCC-MIRCEN World Data Centre for Microorganisms

UNIMORE MICROBIAL CULTURE COLLECTION (UMCC)
as a platform
for selection and preservation of microorganisms
useful for food and industrial application

Luciana De Vero
Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita sede ex-Agraria –
November 10, 2021 (11:30-12:30)
Webinar Link: Click here

Abstract

In Italy, the food and beverage industry represents the third most important sector of the National manufacturing sector in terms of added value produced. Even during the emergency due to Covid-19, the Italian food industry has proven to be a sector capable of supporting the Country’s economy, while highlighting the strong need to urgently develop a pluriannual plan of actions able to promote investments for technological innovations. Indeed, there is a growing consumers awareness towards food quality, food safety and health aspects. Moreover, a strong preference for “clean label” foods with high added value and low environmental impact has emerged.
In this regard, the study and preservation of microbial biodiversity are fundamental for the research and biotechnological applications of microorganisms in various fields, including food. In fact, some microbial cultures are particularly useful to produce enzymes, antibiotics, prebiotics, probiotics, polymers, antimicrobial agents and much more. Therefore, the qualified microbial collections have a fundamental role in research, selection and preservation of microorganisms of food interest.
Among the Italian collections, UMCC, located in Reggio Emilia (Italy) and belonging to the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Department of Life Sciences), boasts a long experience in the acquisition, study and ex-situ conservation of “authenticated biological material” and associated genomic data, with the aim of offering services to support research, teaching and technology transfer to industry and private institutions.
Specifically, UMCC holds about 3,000 microbial cultures including yeasts, lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria used for the implementation of functional starter cultures to be applied in food and industrial fermentation processes. UMCC is an Internationally recognized collection, affiliated to the World Federation for Culture Cultures (WFCC) and the European Culture Collection Organization (ECCO). Moreover, UMCC is one of the five founding partners of the Joint Research Unit MIRRI-IT (http://www.mirri-it.it/) and is involved in the European project Horizon 2020 IS_MIRRI21 aimed at the development of a pan-European research infrastructure for access to collections of certified microorganisms and their derivatives

Author’s Info: Luciana De Vero

Da Repubblica, 17 settembre 2021, pag. 8, sez. CRONACA-BARI

Bari, nel Cnr il quartier generale dei microbi:
“Qui con 16mila ceppi studiamo il futuro del cibo”

La collezione di colture microbiche fra le più importanti in Italia, unica al Sud, è custodita nel seminterrato della sede barese del Cnr, il Centro nazionale delle ricerche Ispa: 16mila ceppi microbici tra funghi, batteri e lieviti – alcuni unici al mondo, come i lieviti dei vini del Salento – 8mila dei quali in catalogo e a disposizione della comunità scientifica internazionale, che costituiscono un patrimonio di inestimabile valore da tutelare e valorizzare.
Tre grandi frigoriferi, due di criocongelazione a quasi meno 150 gradi e l’altro di colture in fresco, conservano la biodiversità microbica dell’agroalimentare pugliese, ma non solo, al quale l’istituto barese lavora da trent’anni.
Dal quartier generale in via Amendola, con sedi secondarie a Lecce, Foggia, Sassari, Milano e Torino, i circa 600 tra scienziati, ricercatori e addetti, diretti da Antonio Francesco Logrieco, si dedicano alla ricerca nel campo della Scienza della produzione alimentare.
“Curiamo tutta la filiera dal campo alla tavola – spiega il direttore Logrieco – supportando anche le aziende agricole per produrre materie prime e alimenti sani e di qualità, partendo dai nostri prodotti tipici e dalla dieta mediterranea”

di Isabella Maselli

Click to enlarge

MIRRI needs to hear from you!

How can we help delivering the maximum value
from your projects, technologies or products?

The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure MIRRI is available to collaborate with researchers and companies on delivering the maximum value from research and innovation projects, technologies or products involving microbial resources. In order to continuously improve its positioning, it needs to hear from the (even potential) users of the resources and services that MIRRI provides.

MIRRI is now asking for your help. It would greatly appreciate if you could spend 10 minutes of your time to respond to its survey “How can we help delivering the maximum value from your projects, technologies or products”.

Fill the survey now at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YDHF7YD!

The 6th Conference on Microbial Diversity (MD2021) will take place online from 14 to 15 December 2021. The Microbial Diversity Conference is a biennial international event that brings together researchers and professionals from all over the world working on agricultural, environmental and food microbiology.

Previous editions have seen a multidisciplinary audience and included academic and industrial researchers, as well as basic scientists from 36 Countries to make for an exciting forum. The 6th Edition of MD is organized by the Italian Society of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology (SIMTREA), in collaboration with the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA, France).

MD2021 will be focused on emerging topics of microbiology, ranging from the study of the metabolome to microbial ecology and the impact of microbes on the human society. The online event will allow researchers from anywhere in the world to take part in the discussions, with the aim to create a connected and collaborative community of microbiologists.

Being a part of this first-of-its-kind virtual MD conference will allow to share experiences, knowledge, research outcomes and best practices, and to hear from the scientists how to explore the hottest topics in microbiology, like never before. The organizing committee is also excited to offer an advocacy and policy platform to communicate to decision makers and the general public the relevance and importance of microbiology.

Invited speakers
Nicholas Bokulich (ETH Zürich, Switzerland); Bas Teusink (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands); Rudolf Amann (Max Planck Institute, Bremen, Germany); Maria Marco (University of California, Davis, California); Sarah Lebeer (University of Antwerp, Belgium); Peter Vandamme (University of Ghent, Belgium); Korneel Rabaey (University of Ghent, Belgium); Pascal Saikaly (KAUST University, Saudi Arabia); Federico Aulenta (Italian National Research Council, Italy); Hadda Imene Ouzari (University Tunis El Manar, Tunisia); Loubna El fels (Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco); Petek Cakar (Istanbul Technical University, Turkey); Marcello Scalisi (Mediterranean Universities Union, Italy).

Scientific Committee
Chairman of the Scientific committee: Luca Cocolin President of SIMTREA, University of Turin;
Daniele Daffonchio, KAUST; Cinzia Caggia, University of Catania; Marilena Budroni, University of Sassari; Carlo Viti, University of Florence; Giovanna Felis, University of Verona; Maria Gullo, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Stéphane Chaillou, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique – INRAE.

Organising Committee
SIMTREA Board
E-mail address: secretariatmd21@simtrea.org;
Website: https://md21.simtrea.org/it/

Registration fee
The registration fees are as follows: 50 Euros for PhD Students and Students; 100 Euros for SIMTREA members and 120 Euros for NON-SIMTREA members and includes the access to all Congress Sessions and digital proceedings. One day registration is fixed to 50 Euros for PhD Students, Students and SIMTREA members, to 70 Euros for NON-SIMTREA members. Please, check deadlines on our website https://md21.simtrea.org/it/

On February 27, 2020, the Executive Board of the European Culture Collections’ Organization (ECCO) has expressed its concerns on proposed changes to the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) to the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes.

Such changes could have serious consequences in the activities of ECCO member collections and in their role in biodiversity preservation and distribution for life science researchers. While the current Code requires deposit of a designated type-strain in culture collections in two different countries for valid publication of a species or sub-species, the proposal would allow the use of complete or partial genome sequences as type. This, according to ECCO Executive Board, will take away the firm basis of the system: the type-strains, the biological specimens that allow for a polyphasic approach in characterizing species including DNA-based analyses as well as phenotypic traits.

In their letter, the members of the ECCO Executive Board highlights all negative consequences of the proposed changes. See the letter of the ECCO Executive Board.