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Designing the Microbial Research Commons Proceedings of an International Symposium (2011) / Chapter Skim
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7. The Agricultural Research Service Culture Collection: Germplasm Accessions and Research Programs
Pages 55-62

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From page 55...
... We also received a collection, which Howard Dulmadge assembled over his entire career, which contains about 2,000 bacilli, including Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus sphaericus strains, which are the microorganisms used for biocontrol of insect pests on crops. 24 Presentation slides available at: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/xpedio/idcplg?
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From page 56...
... For a while there was little interest in these fungi, but recently, with the interest in biomass conversion, these strains are attracting attention as a group of organisms that could be really useful for breaking down cellulose and other fibers. Over the years we have also had a number of research programs that netted us literally thousands of cultures related to food safety, microbiology of cereals, and so forth.
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From page 57...
... Other important finds included large-scale production of xanthan gum using Xanthomonas campestris, and use of Leuconostoc mesenteroides for production of dextran gum, which is used in emergency rooms for quick fluid buildup in accident victims. Riboflavin production from Eremothecium came out of our cooperative interactions with NCAUR chemists, as did production of betacarotene from other fungi.
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From page 58...
... You may recall that I showed photos of staff members during these particular examples. As an example of how the collection and the ongoing research may be used, about three years ago there was a recall issued for a contact lens cleaner produced by a prominent pharmaceutical company because users were getting corneal infections caused by fungi.
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From page 59...
... Todd Ward, also a member of our group, developed an extensive multigene database for Listeria monocytogenes and combined this with Luminex Technology for rapid diagnostics. The interest in this rapid diagnostic technology has come not only from the food safety group within ARS but also from the food safety group at the Food Safety and Inspection Service and from the CDC because of the variety of gene sequences used.
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From page 60...
... I was at a meeting in January organized by the American Phytopathological Society, and the people in that organization are very concerned about where to put their germplasm. They are also concerned about whether they can get a variety of plant pathogens for their own research.
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From page 61...
... Post symposium note: In November 2010, ARS decided for budgetary reasons that technical operation of the ARS Culture Collection was to be only by scientific support staff.
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Key Terms

  • abandoned collections
  • food safety
  • ars culture
  • patent collection
  • charles thom

  • plant pathogens
  • research materials
  • gene sequences
  • patent cultures
  • patent office

  • typical storage
  • culture collections
  • inspection service
  • agricultural research
  • budapest treaty

  • utilization research
  • dextran gum
  • health inspection
  • own research
  • bacillus sphaericus

  • american phytopathological
  • accept patent
  • agricultural utilization
  • convert agricultural
  • bacillus collection

  • extensive multigene
  • process patent
  • quick fluid
  • production strains
  • support staff


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