Ex-situ Conservation of Polar Cyanobacteria in the BCCM/ULC Collection

The BCCM/ULC public collection is funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and aims to gather a representative portion of Polar cyanobacterial diversity from different ecological origins (limnetic microbial mats, soil crusts, cryoconites, endoliths, etc.) and ensure their ex-situ conservation in a context of global change. These strains are available for researchers to study the biodiversity, taxonomy, evolution, adaptations to harsh environmental conditions, and genomic make-up of Polar cyanobacteria. Currently, there are 120 cyanobacterial strains of Polar origin in the collection (catalogue: http://bccm.belspo.be/catalogues/ulc-catalogue-search). The strains are kept living and their cryopreservation is currently tested. The collection is ISO 9001 certified for depositing and distributing strains, as part of the multi-site certification of the Belgian Coordinated Collections of Microorganisms (BCCM) consortium. Morphological and molecular identification (based on 16S rRNA sequences) indicate that the strains belong to the orders Chroococcales, Chroococcidiopsidales, Nostocales, Oscillatoriales, Pleurocapsales, and Synechococcales. This broad genotypic distribution makes the BCCM/ULC collection particularly interesting for phylogenomic studies. The genomes of several strains are currently being sequenced and the first genome of an Antarctic cyanobacterial strain, Phormidesmis priestleyi ULC007 was recently published.