Novel Pseudomonas species added to NCIMB catalogue

A novel species of Pseudomonas has recently been added to the National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria by scientists at Texas A&M AgriLife. The strain, NCIMB 15426 Pseudomonas uvaldensis sp. nov., which is now available to order from NCIMB, was isolated from an onion bulb and is noted to cause onion bulb rot.  For more information see the strain entry in our catalogue and a paper describing the strain which was published earlier this year. Khanal M, Timilsina S, Bhatta BP, Bophela K, Coutinho T, Cochran K, Malla …

Download the A-Z of NCIMB to learn more about the diversity in our collection

The name of our culture collection – the National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria -comes from three collections that were merged to form it. Since then the collection has continued to grow and develop, and today, our name reflects our history rather than the content of the collection today. However, people are often still surprised at the diversity of strains held at NCIMB, and might not think to search our catalogue for eg freshwater or soil strains. We love reading about all the amazing places that the strains …

Two novel actinomycete species added to the National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria

Two novel actinomycete species1, isolated from Southern Ocean sediment, have been added to the NCIMB culture collection by researchers from the University of Strathclyde. The microbiology of Polar environments, which are vulnerable to global climate change, is vastly underexplored in terms of biomedical potential.  Furthermore, actinomycetes are well known for their specialised metabolite production, accounting for over 45% of all bioactive microbial metabolites. We are delighted to add Pseudonocardia abyssalis sp. nov. NCIMB 15270 and Pseudonocardia oceani sp. nov. NCIMB 15269. to our collection as they have been found to exhibit both …

Celebrating International Microorganism Day 2021

Dr Samantha Law considers the important role of culture collections around the world on International Microorganism Day 17 September is International Microorganisms Day, because on this day in 1683, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek wrote to the Royal Society about his teeth being the home to “many very little animalcules”. The understanding of these ‘animacules’ and their importance to every aspect of our lives has come a long way since then.  Culture collections around the world have played a pivotal role in supporting microbiological research, collaborating, and working together to ensure that …

Around the world in 80 strains – setting off on our journey from London!

Since we haven’t done much travelling recently, we’re going to take a journey around the world in 80 strains, following the route of Phileas Fogg in the novel “Around the World in 80 Days”. We have travelled down to London from our laboratories in Aberdeen, and begin our journey with a hearty lunch to prepare us for the road ahead. Here we encounter our first two strains! There’s a choice of fish and chips with salt and vinegar or steak pie. Bacteria are sometimes classified as “good” or “bad” but …

World Microbiome Day 2021: why microorganisms hold the key to a sustainable future

Our culture collection curator Dr Samantha Law considers the importance of microbiomes and the role of culture collections in preserving the strains within them. The theme for World Microbiome Day 2021 is sustainability –  with a focus on how microbes can contribute to a sustainable future around the world. This is a subject close to our hearts here at NCIMB: we look after the UK’s National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria. This reference collection includes thousands of microbes isolated from all kinds of microbiomes, from deserts to Antarctic …