The role of the Collection de l’Institut Pasteur (CIP) is to ensure the maintenance and the enrichment of its bacterial collection, the diffusion of information on the distributed strains, the development of research on identification, taxonomy and preservation of bacteria. The CIP has been certificated ISO 9001 version 2000 on June 2001 and newly certified according to the NF S96-900 a French standard for Biological Resources Centres. The CIP belongs to the Centre of Biological Resources of Institut Pasteur and participates to several international and national collection projects for the creation of the Biological Resources Centres.

More than 9 500 strains are available on stock. Every year, new bacterial strains are added to the collection (about 300) coming either from researchers of the Institut Pasteur, or from foreign collections or from newly deposited strains after having connection with foreign or French researchers. The CIP contains also plasmids, transposons, host strains and probes. Strains are preserved in two different places and by two different ways (freeze dried and deep-frozen at - 80°C, or deep-frozen in nitrogen liquid and at - 80°C for strains which cannot be freeze-dried). In 2010, the CIP produced about 9000 freeze dried samples and distributed about 3 500 strains.

Bacterial strains from external collections are preserved in the CIP. It’s submitted to a maintenance contract. Since 2002, this activity has been certifying with the standard ISO 9001 version 2000.

Withthe Plate-Forme1 – génomique of the Institut Pasteur and in order to increase the enrichment of the CIP data base, the coding gene for 16S rRNA of the type strains is systematically sequenced. The sequence of 16S rRNA gene is obtained for more than 2300 type strains. All the new incorporated strains are identified by sequencing the gene coding for 16Sr RNA. The sequencing of other genes like gyrB, rpoB, Hsp65 is performed in relation with the genus studied.

The sequences are integrated in the CIP database that can be viewed and used for Blast comparison on the website.

CIP has began to put in place research programs on Lactobacillus,Propionibacteriumthrought the EMbaRC projet, Multi Locus Sequence Typing on Bacillus subtilis andCitrobater. Collaborations with different laboratories inside and outside of Institut Pasteur are developed. Our main research topics are taxonomy and phylogenetic studies as well as strain typing.

The CIP began collaboration with Bruker and provides to Bruker the mass spectra of Biological Material which are not included in the Bruker Database. The results of an interlaboratory reproducibility have been published in 2009.

The Ministry of Research created Biological Resources Centers (BRC) at a national level which is managed by a Committee of Biological Resources. The CIP coordinates the establishment of a network of BRC of micro-organisms and participates to the launch of quotations for creation and finance of certified BRC, linked to IBiSA projects.

The CIP coordinates twoprojects at the national level:

• Creation of a new software for the management of biological resource Centers of micro-organisms.

• Quality of samples. Evaluation of new quality markers and alternative methods of preservation.

and coordinates oneproject at the European level: EMbaRC European Consortium of Microbial Resource Centres

The CIP is a member of different official organizations: l’ECCO (European Culture Collections’ Organization – www.eccosite.org) and WFCC (World Federation for Culture Collection).

Keywords: bacteria, BRC, preservation, taxonomy, mass spectrometry

D. Clermont, S. Diard, L. Motreff, C. Vivier, F. Bimet, C. Bouchier, M. Welker, W. Kallow, C. Bizet

Description of Microbacterium binotiisp. nov, isolated from human blood. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 2009, 59, 1016-1022.

A. Mellman, F. Bimet, C. Bizet, A.D. Boroskaya, R.R. Drake, U. Eigner, A.M. Fahr, Y. He, E.N. Ilina, M. Kostrzewa, T. Maier, L. Mancinelli, W. Moussaoui, G. Prévost, L. Putignani, C.L. Seachord, Y.W. Tang and D. Harmsen. High interlaboratory reproducibility of Matrix-Assisted Laser desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry-Based Species Identification of Nonfermenting Bacteria. J. Clin.l Microbiol., 2009, 47, 3732-3734

E. P. Ivanova, R. Christen, C. Bizet,D. Clermont, L. Motreff, C. Bouchier, N. V. Zhukova, R. J. Crawford, and E. A. Kiprianova. Pseudomonasbrassicacearum neoaurantiaca. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 2009, 59: 2476 - 2481.