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Collecting: The CIRM is continually enriching its collections to maintain an offer in phase with the progress of discoveries in microbiology. This is achieved through scientific projects, field collections or the repatriation of INRAE or external collections of patrimonial or scientific interest.

Identify: The BRCs have traditional microbiology activities to cultivate and conserve the microorganisms entrusted to them. The characterisation of the entries in the collections consists at least in ensuring the taxonomic position of the strain, most often by molecular techniques (RNA16S, ITS, etc.).

Preservation: Depending on the species, strains are preserved by cryopreservation (-80°, liquid nitrogen) and freeze-drying techniques. A golden rule is that each strain is physically preserved in duplicate in two independent locations.

Characterisation: Through research projects, CIRM undertakes genomic and phenotypic characterisation of its collections.

Distribute: Making available the microbiological resources present in CIRM's open collections is an operating principle. The collections are visible and accessible on the web portals of each BRC and allow scientific, industrial or educational users to order the strains of interest.