Searching the NCIMB catalogue for strains “equivalent” to those in other collections

There is some overlap between major culture collections, with most including a list of “equivalents” in their catalogues. Consequently, it is possible to search the NCIMB catalogue using strain numbers from other collections. NCIMB’s culture collection curator Dr Samantha Law takes a look at equivalency in strains, what it means, and how to find the cultures you are looking for… The National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria includes thousands of strains isolated from all kinds of environments around the world – it is a much more diverse collection …

NCIMB strains used to explore antibacterial properties of natural products

Dr Carol Phillips and Dr Samantha Law from NCIMB were delighted to have the opportunity to  work with researchers from Aberdeen University and the Arctic University of Norway, to explore antibacterial properties of natural products in a project that used microbial strains held in the NCIMB culture collection. A research article describing the work – titled “Discovery and biosynthetic investigation of a new antibacterial dehydrated non‐ribosomal tripeptide” – is now available online here The article reports discovery of a new antimicrobial peptide, albopeptide, that displays narrow-spectrum activity against vancomycin resistant …

Next generation sequencing: revolutionising microbiology

The development of next generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionised genomic research, but what exactly are the benefits of NGS, and what value can it offer our customers? We take a brief look back at the development of sequencing technologies and highlights some of the applications. Microbiologists have always exploited new technologies in order to understand the impact and processes of bacterial systems. In 1977, Carl Woese revolutionised microbial taxonomy, using rRNA genes as a marker to classify archaea as a separate domain from bacteria. The same year marked the development …

NCIMB commits to refreshed Scottish Business Pledge

We’re delighted to have made our commitment to the refreshed Scottish Business Pledge. The Scottish Business Pledge is a values-led partnership between government and business that is based on boosting productivity and competitiveness through fairness, equality and sustainable employment. The scheme was refreshed in 2019 and includes three core elements relating to the real living wage, the gender pay gap and zero hours contracts. It also includes a range of other commitments including environmental impact, diversity, innovation, workforce engagement, internationalisation and prompt payment. A list of the companies that have …

NCIMB launches three-point strain health check service

Microorganisms have many applications in a diverse range of industry sectors – from traditional food and drink manufacturing to industrial biotechnology and synthetic biology. Good microbe management is crucial to ensure that processes are optimised and products meet quality requirements. To support companies in achieving this, NCIMB has launched a new three-point strain health check for microbes used as production strains, and in applications such as feed additives or probiotic products. The health check service allows organisations that use microorganisms in these ways to: Identify and assess strain functionality Monitor …

NCIMB sponsors the Institute of Corrosion Aberdeen branch

We are delighted to announce that NCIMB is sponsoring the Aberdeen Branch of the Institute of Corrosion this year. Microorganisms can influence corrosion in a range of environments and NCIMB has extensive experience of working with the oil and gas industry to monitor the populations of microbes that can have an impact- allowing appropriate steps to be taken if the risk of microbially influenced corrosion is high. More information about our oilfield microbiology services is available here . With our years of experience in this field, getting more involved with …