How the World Federation for Culture Collections Safeguards Earth's Microbial Heritage
Beneath our feet, in the air we breathe, and inside our own bodies thrives a hidden universe: the realm of microorganisms. Though invisible to the naked eye, these bacteria, fungi, archaea, and algae form the foundation of life on Earth—driving biogeochemical cycles, enabling agriculture, and unlocking medical breakthroughs. Yet, less than 2% of microbial species are preserved for science.
This is where the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) steps in. Since 1970, this global network has coordinated over 676 culture collections across 78 countries, safeguarding 2.4 million microbial strains from extinction and enabling revolutionary science 1 4 . Imagine a library where every book is alive—a living repository of Earth's genetic history and biotechnological potential. That library exists, and its librarians are the unsung heroes of modern microbiology.
Culture collections are biorepositories that acquire, authenticate, preserve, and distribute microbial strains. They range from small university research sets to massive public archives like the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). Their functions include:
Storing strains from extreme environments (e.g., deep-sea vents, permafrost) that may vanish due to climate change.
Providing reference strains so experiments can be validated globally.
Safeguarding pathogens under strict containment (e.g., CDC's BEI Resources).
Serving as International Depository Authorities under the Budapest Treaty for patent-related deposits 4 .
The WFCC operates as a United Nations for microbes, under the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) and the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS). Its pillars include:
The WFCC's World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM) tracks collections worldwide. When Iraq's Rhizobium collection was destroyed during the Gulf War, the USDA-ARS in Maryland provided backup strains to restore alfalfa-symbiont research 3 .
Initiatives like MIRRI (Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure) harmonize European collections, while the US Culture Collection Network (USCCN) links U.S. repositories .
In 2024, Japanese scientists achieved the impossible: culturing Promethearchaeum syntrophicum, the first living representative of Asgard archaea—a group thought to hold clues to the origin of complex life. This experiment underscores why WFCC standards matter.
The team approached four WFCC-affiliated collections. Three failed due to the strain's sensitivity. Only the Japan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM) succeeded, using:
Taxonomic Validation: JCM's success allowed formal naming of the Promethearchaeota phylum under the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP)—rejecting the genome-only "SeqCode" alternative.
Scientific Access: Depositing the strain in JCM let global researchers study its eukaryote-like genes, reshaping theories of cellular evolution 7 .
| Method | Mechanism | Success Rate | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cryopreservation | Ultra-low temps (-196°C) | 80–95%* | Decades |
| Freeze-Drying | Sublimation removes water | 60–70% | 10–50 years |
| Continuous Culture | Regular subculturing | >99% | High risk of contamination |
Culture collections deploy specialized tools to combat entropy. Here's what's in their arsenal:
| Reagent/Material | Function | Key Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Cryoprotectants | Prevent ice-crystal damage during freezing | Glycerol, DMSO, Trehalose |
| Lyophilization Buffers | Stabilize cells during freeze-drying | Skim milk, Sucrose, Glutamate |
| Anaerobic Chambers | Enable oxygen-free handling | Coy Vinyl, Whitley A35 |
| Cryovials | Storage vessels for liquid nitrogen | Nalgene Polypropylene |
| Collection | Acronym | Key Holdings | Strains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Collection of Microorganisms | JCM | Archaea, Anaerobes | 20,000+ |
| USDA ARS Collection (Peoria) | NRRL | Fungi, Soil Bacteria | 99,000 |
| Leibniz Institute DSMZ | DSMZ | Human Pathogens, Cell Lines | 40,000 |
| Phaff Yeast Culture Collection | PYCC | Wild Yeasts | 3,854 |
The WFCC faces dual challenges:
Yet, initiatives like the Global Catalog of Microorganisms (GCM)—a WFCC database linking 60+ collections—aim to democratize access. Meanwhile, projects like the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea sequence preserved strains to reveal new antibiotics and carbon-capture tools .
A Call to Action: As Dr. Hiroyuki Imachi (discoverer of Promethearchaeum) asserts: "Live strains are irreplaceable. Without WFCC collections, we gamble with evolution's blueprints" 7 .
Microbes wrote Earth's first life manual—4 billion years of genetic trial and error. The WFCC ensures this library isn't burned. By preserving Promethearchaeum, rescuing Iraqi rhizobia, or certifying novel probiotics, they turn microbial dark matter into engines of discovery. In an era of pandemics and climate crises, their work isn't just science; it's survival. As one curator muses: "We freeze time. What melts later may save us" 8 .
Explore WFCC's global strain portal