| Summary: | The BCCM/ULC public collection is funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office since 2011 and an ISO9001 certificate was obtained for the public deposition and distribution of strains, as part of the multi-site certification for the BCCM consortium. The collection aims to gather a representative portion of the polar cyanobacterial diversity with different ecological origins (limnetic mats, soil crusts, cryoconites, endoliths…) and make it available for researchers to study the taxonomy, evolution, adaptations to harsh environmental conditions, and genomic make-up. It presently includes 226 cyanobacterial strains, with 120 being of (Sub) Antarctic origin (http://bccm.belspo.be/catalogues/ulc-catalogue-search). The morphological identification shows that the strains belong to the orders of Synechococcales, Oscillatoriales, Pleurocapsales, Chroococcidiopsidales and Nostocales. Continuous maintenance of living cultures, some of which are also cryopreserved, ensure the preservation and the possibility to rapidly deliver strains to clients for fundamental and applied research. BCCM/ULC collection of cyanobacteria
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