‘Ex-situ’ preservation and characterization of Antarctic cyanobacteria in the BCCM/ULC collection

The BCCM/ULC public collection of (sub)polar cyanobacteria is funded since 2011 by the Belgian Science Policy Office. An ISO9001 certificate was obtained for the public deposition and distribution of strains, as part of the multi-site certification for the BCCM consortium. BCCM/ULC is currently holding 160 public cyanobacterial strains and the catalogue is available on http://bccm.belspo.be/catalogues/ulc-catalogue-search. Continuous maintenance of living cultures, some of which are also cryopreserved, ensure the preservation and the possibility to rapidly deliver strains to clients for fundamental and applied research. The main holding of the collection concerns (sub)polar strains isolated from different biotopes and representative of a large taxonomic diversity. The molecular characterization is underway, on the basis of 16S rRNA and ITS sequences, but also Multiple Locus Sequence Analysis and genome sequencing. In addition, cyanobacteria are known to produce a range of secondary metabolites (e.g. alkaloides, cyclic and linear peptides, polyketides) with various bioactive potential. The presence of genes involved in the production of microcystin is currently studied by PCR, and analytical methods are used to confirm the toxin production. Due to the geographic isolation and the strong environmental stressors of the habitat, the exploration of these metabolites in Antarctic cyanobacterial strains seems especially promising for biotechnology or biomedical applications.BCCM/UL