BCCM/ULC: a unique Biological Resource Center of (sub)polar cyanobacteria

The BCCM/ULC public collection of cyanobacteria funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) focusses on the ‘ex situ’ conservation of a representative portion of the (sub)polar cyanobacterial diversity with different origins, isolated from terrestrial (e.g. soil crusts, cryoconites, endoliths) and aquatic ecosystems (e.g. limnetic microbial mats, freshwater lakes and marine environments). BCCM/ULC currently holds 175 cyanobacterial strains, including over 100 of polar origin (catalogue: http://bccm.belspo.be/catalogues/ulc-catalogue-search). The strains are available for researchers who study the taxonomy, evolution, biogeography, adaptation to harsh environmental conditions, etc. Morphological and molecular identifications (based on SSU rRNA sequences) indicate that the strains belong to the orders Synechococcales, Oscillatoriales, Pleurocapsales, Chroococcidiopsidales and Nostocales. This large taxonomic distribution makes the collection interesting for phylogenomic and genomic make-up studies, hence the genome sequencing of several strains is ongoing. Continuous maintenance of living cultures ensures the preservation of strains, whose majority are cryopreserved (as back-up at -70°C) in order to limit the genetic drift.
BCCM/ULC obtained an ISO 9001:2015 certification for public and safe deposits, and distributions of strains, as part of the multi-site certification for the Belgian Coordinated Collections of Microorganisms (BCCM) consortium. The policies of acquisition and distribution of the collection are translated respectively into contracts called Material Accession Agreements (MAA) and Material Transfer Agreements (MTA). This guarantees safe fit-for-use microbiological material and data compliant with the rules on access and utilization of the Nagoya Protocol under the Convention on Biological Diversity (12 October 2014).
BCCM/ULC progressively incorporates the most interesting strains from the research collection of the host laboratory into the public collection, whose variety is also enriched by public deposits from other geographical areas (more temperate). The collection is also interested to test new cultivation methods to better reproduce the complex ecological interactions experienced in nature.
In addition, Antarctic cyanobacterial strains are known to produce a range of secondary metabolites with different potential bioactivities, as well as the exploration of some unknown gene clusters identified in the first Antarctic cyanobacterial genome ever determined may potentially lead to discover novel peptides which could have biotechnological or biomedical applications.