Bacteriophages are viruses growing in bacterial hosts. Recently, bacteriophages are reported being used in new applications such as antibacterial agents, defense against bio-terrorism, replacement of antibiotics used in food, carrier of DNA vaccine or therapeutic genes and screening proteins using phage display. Bacteriophage Bank collects phages from environments as well as from working groups worldwide and distributes to researchers. At the same time, the bank serves as a distributor for the collected phages.
Center for Fungal Genetic Resources (CFGR) was established for collection, genetic characterization and maintenance of database for plant phytopathogenic fungi which cause 85% of plant diseases. CFGR aims to provide a broad range of plant pathogenic fungi and their genetic information for both educational and research purposes. Genetic resources in the center will serve for researchers in understanding genetic diversity as well as mechanisms of fungal pathogenicity. These materials also can be applied in development of fungicides or disease-resistant cultivars and in preparation of quarantine standards.
Culture Collection of Antimicrobial Resistant Microbes
To solve the problem of antibiotic resistance, it is essential to have collaboration among experts from various disciplines such as microbiology, biochemistry, medicine, pharmacy, agriculture and veterinary. The Culture Collection of Antimicrobial Resistant Microbes (CCARM) was established in 1999 with the purpose of connecting various research fields. CCARM collects antimicrobial resistant microbes and characterizes their resistance mechanisms. These microbes and their information are provided to aid basic science researches as well as antibiotic drug developments. CCARM has been members of Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) since 2000 and of World Federation for Culture Collection & World Data Center for Microorganisms (WFCC-WDCM) since 2003. CCARM provides various technical information about deposit, storage and latest information about antibiotic resistance via homepage, newsletters, seminars and workshops.
The main goal of Korea Bank for Pathogenic Viruses (KBPV) is to acquire, identify, manage and supply infectious, transmitted and pathogenic viruses. KBPV succeeded the basic management system of the Research Center for Viral Diseases that has been running for 30 years. In addition to distributing the various pathogenic viruses to researches in biomedical sciences, KBPV provides information about biosafety against pathogenic viruses, therapeutic method for prevention, diagnosis of viral disease and consulting services for biomedical researchers.
The Korea Environmental Microorganisms Bank (KEMB) was established as a microbial and genetic resource center for the development and conservation of microbial resources. The goals of KEMB are; 1) Collection and conservation of native environmental microorganisms and genetic resources 2) Construction of systematic management system for effective conservation and application of microbiological resources for environmental industries 3) Providing data for ecosystem research and microbial classification 4) Providing data for bioremediation of environmental pollutant and ecosystem restoration
The Korea Mushroom Resource Bank (KMRB) was launched as a national research resource bank in 2015 by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. The main goal of the KMRB is to secure important biological resources, mushroom-forming basidiomycota, significant sources of fundamental and novel substances and materials, as dried specimen, cultures, and genomic DNA. For wider application of fungal resources in education, medicinal and industrial uses, the KMRB will undertake following tasks: 1) Survey natural environments across Korea to catalogue mushroom diversity, 2) Establish resource management system based on accurate identification of mushroom, 3) Evaluate the usefulness of the discovered mushroom, 4) Create a secure preservation and loan system. With a global focus on utilizing natural resources, mushroom resources provide excellent opportunities for academic research, and discovering novel substances for use as medicine and energy.
It has been known that about 700 species of oral bacteria inhabit the human oral cavity. Of them, 350 species have been cultured. The oral bacteria is the major causative agents of systemic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases as well as oral diseases such as periodontitis and dental caries.
However, the causative bacterial species for oral diseases have been not known because the dental diseases are occurred by the multiple infection. In addition, the prevalence of the oral bacterial species is different by the geographic location of the host and individual. It is very important to obtain the oral bacteria from Koreans for pathogenesis studies related to oral infectious diseases. The purpose of this study is to obtain the oral clinical strains and their genetic resources, such as 16S rDNA, rpoB, species-specific PCR or qPCR primers, and genome nucleotide sequences, offer them to the researchers who work in dental science.
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus (the mycobiont) with a photosynthetic partner, usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium. Lichen-forming fungi are isolated from various lichens collected from all over the world. Screening of their biological activity is also attempted to exploit novel bioresources as the potential commodity. Korean Lichen and Allied Bioresources Center (KOLABIC) focuses on isolation, maintenance and distribution of lichen bioresources to research groups in universities, national institutes and industrial sectors. KOLABIC also screens their biological activities, and investigates cultural conditions for large production of lichen substances.
The objective of MCRB (Microbial Carbohydrate Resource Bank) is to collect and resource both the microorganisms and their polysaccharides as functional biomaterial for the related institutes or industries in the fields of biomedicine, food, pharmaceutics and cosmetics.
Plant Virus GenBank (PVGB) was established in 1999 to provide plant virus research biomaterials. PVGB maintains a number of accessions and a wide range of collections of plant virus biomaterials for plant virology and biotech-related research areas. PVGB collects and develops biomaterials such as infectious plant virus culture, plant viral cDNA clones, plant virus antisera, biologically active full-length cDNA clones, viral cDNA libraries, virus-induced plant cDNA libraries, and diagnostic primers. PVGB distributes plant virus research biomaterials to worldwide researchers to support their researches on plant virology.
Mushrooms are considered as an important source of therapeutic drugs. In 2008, Culture Collection and DNA Bank of Mushrooms (CCDBM) was founded succeeding Culture Collection of Wild Mushroom Species (CCWM) which was started in 2002. The Bank provides mushroom cultures, mushroom DNA and related information to researchers in various research fields. CCDBM collects wild mushroom species, develops culture methods and screens breeding potentiality for the purpose of food and drug development.
By securing rare ecosystems to other microorganism resources, ECUM has set our sights on building up a foundation for new pharmaceutical development and for more use in various areas of biotechnology. Microbes were isolated that extensive were from soil or sample ECUM from areas with unique weather conditions and ecologies. The separated isolates are cultivated onsite, and the organic solvents are stored within our chemical diversity libraries which are then distributed to physiological activity screening. Not only we are making organic solvents readily available, we are also offering the seed to develop new drugs. What is more, our bank collects and stores soil from rare ecosystems all over the world and by separating bacteria and molds beginning with actinomyces from these soil, we have raised the odds of discovering new matter. We have also raised the safety levels of sample ores by dissolving the extracts in organic solvents and keeping them in cold storage.
Helicobacter pylori Korean Type Culture Collection
Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium found in the stomach. More than 50% of the world's population harbor H. pylori in their upper gastrointestinal tract. Since the living bacteria can only be isolated from human gastric mucosa, H. pylori, a main cause of the human gastric diseases is very difficult to obtain. Collecting enough isolates for research is also difficult because culturing this bacterium is very complicated. H. pylori Korean Type Culture Collection (HpKTCC) has collected more than 1,200 clinical isolates of disease-specific-H. pylori strains. And the goal of HpKTCC is to collect more isolates and to establish the microbiological typing system with studying biological characteristics of H. pylori.
Korea Marine Microalgae Culture Center
1995 ~ 2015
Pukyong National University
As a primary producer of nutrients in the ocean, marine microalgae are the sources of marine life. Over three hundred thousand varieties of microalgae are distributed in the ocean and they generate about twenty billion tons of organic matters a year. The variety and the total biomass of the microalgae show that the ocean is rich in biological resources. Today, microalgae are used for researches and for educational purposes as well as in many industrial fields. The Korea Marine Microalgae Culture Center was founded in 1995 at the Department of Aquaculture, Pukyong National University with support from Korea Science & Engineering Foundation. The goal of the center is to collect microalgal species from Korean coastal waters and to distribute microalgae to researchers in universities, research institutes and industry.
The aim of the present project is to obtain metagenomes from uncultured microbes >99% thereby to contribute in increasing domestic biological resources and to become an exclusive metagenome resource bank. The additional aims are to contribute to the improvement of biotechnology by providing the metagenomic resources into various researches and to perform a national mission for maintaining the metagenomes as future biological resources.
Myxobacteria are microbial resources with a high potential industrial value due to their characteristic nature to produce various bioactive substances, enzymes, bio-polymers, etc. To promote the use of such valuable resources in Korea Myxobacteria Bank has collected and distributed strains, culture extracts, genomic DNA, and cloned genes of myxobacteria since it was established in 2007. In addition, the bank provides other services related to myxobacteria.
Sponge Population Associated-microbial extracted Repository of Korea
The Sponge Population Associated-microbial extracted Repository of Korea (SPARK) aims to establish an extract library from microorganisms associated with marine sponges that were reported to produce a variety of bioactive substances. The extract library in the SPARK has been shared with many institutions and industrial companies since 2006.
The purpose of Warterborne Virus Bank (WAVA) is collecting and storing various waterborne virus isolates provoking severe infections in animal and human. WAVA provides various waterborne viruses, genomes, host cells and virus identification services to hospitals, university institutes, research institutes, and government institutes.
> RRCs > RRCs
Bacteriophage Bank
2010 ~ Now
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
http://www.phagebank.or.kr
Culture Collection of Mushrooms
