Development of cryopreservation methods for long-term preservation of cyanobacterial strains in the BCCM/ULC collection

Long-term genetic and functional stability is a fundamental requirement for the maintenance of microorganisms and cryopreservation is the preferred method for the long-term storage of many micro-organisms, including cyanobacteria. The BCCM/ULC collection currently holds 200 cyanobacterial strains, but only 62 are cryo-preserved. The main limiting factors are the low levels of survival of some strains and the long periods required to recover from cryopreservation, and thus the inability to deliver rapidly cryopreserved strains to the user community. The devel-opment of improved cryopreservation protocols is therefore required for the future expansion and valorization of the collection. The BRAIN-be project PRESPHOTO (preservation of photosynthetic micro-algae in the BCCM collections) (www.presphoto.ulg.ac.be) aims to improve the preservation of cyanobacterial and diatoms in the BCCM/ULC and BCCM/DCG collections, respectively.