Since 1890, microbial culture collections (CCs) have been providing services to the scientific
community, acting as reservoirs and providers of microorganisms, including their living cells,
genomes, and information, being key players for the development of new and more
sustainable products, compounds, and practices. For this reason, the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recognized CCs as a key component of the
scientific and technological infrastructure of the life sciences and biotechnology. Along with
preservation, deposit, and transfer of microorganisms, CCs can provide additional services
such as strain identification and characterization, consulting, patent deposit, and training.
Through these activities, CCs play a fundamental role in different fields, including agriculture,
food security and safety, genetics, industrial and medical microbiology.
However, to increase knowledge and maximise the benefits of their holdings for
biotechnological applications, CCs must face new challenges and embrace the cutting-edge
technologies that allow them to better characterize the microbial strains in their possession.
CCs must thoroughly study strain capabilities, dedicating time and resources to the research
and characterization of promising strains for biotechnological applications. Furthermore, the
generated information regarding function, biosafety, taxonomy, and application, among
others, must be made publicly available in CCs catalogues to promote the extensive use of
such promising strains.
This work will present the example of Micoteca da Universidade do Minho (MUM) and how
it is implementing several cutting-edge technologies for the benefit of biotechnology and to
respond to client demands, following a strategy integrated in a coordinated effort inside the
MIRRI-ERIC Portuguese node. By installing several technological platforms, including
cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass
spectrometry (UPLC-MS), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionizationtime-of-flight mass
spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and next generation sequencing (NGS), MUM will advance
and improve the conservation, biochemical, physiological, and genetic characterisation of
more than 1,000 strains it has available in its catalogue, while also assuming a leading role in
the microbiome revolution that we are currently living.This study partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the
scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit and LABBELS – Associate Laboratory in
Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems (LA/P/0029/2020); and by “MIRRI PT (Pólo Norte)” project (PINFRA04/84445/2020) funded by the European Regional Development Fund
under Norte2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte, and by IS_MIRRI21 project (grant
agreement nº 871129) funded by the EU H2020 research and innovation programmeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
