WFCC-MIRCEN: world data centre for microorganisms

Abstract

In the 1960s, microbiology and culture collection experts met several times to develop a strategic plan to foster microbial culture collections. They quickly recognised that statistics on the activities of culture collections worldwide were not available and that there was a need for a ?world directory of collections of cultures of microorganisms? that accumulated information on culture collections. It was obvious also that a world data centre for microorganisms was required to develop and maintain the directory.