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Presentation of the CIRM-Bactéries Pathogènes

28 july 2011

Brucella typing      

The CIRM-Bactéries Pathogènes (CIRM-BP) is one of the five units of the International Centre of Microbial Resources.

 

     The CIRM (International Centre of Microbial Resources) is dedicated to the preservation and valorization of microbial biodiversity. The 15 000 microbial strains of the CIRM are stored in 5 different locations: Grignon (yeasts), Marseille (filamentous fungi), Rennes (food industry bacteria), Angers (plant bacteria) and Tours (bacterial pathogens). Under the supervision of the INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) it is also associated with different partners such as Agrocampus Ouest, Agro Paris Tech, the University of Provence and the University of the Méditerannée and the University of Angers. 
 
     In collaboration with the Biological Resources Centre of the Institut Pasteur (CRBIP), the CIRM coordonates the European project EMbaRC (European Consortium of Microbial Resource Centres). Ten partners belonging to the European Culture Collection's Organization (ECCO) are involved in this project with the following objectives:
     - the proposal of a program of training aiming at the harmonization of the activities of the European Biological Resources Centres (BRC),
     - the foundation of the future Global Biological Resources Centres Network (GBRCN),
     - the harmonization of the methods of identification of microorganisms,
     - the development of a research program on taxonomy, storage od DNA and identification of bacteria by mass spectrometry.

     The CIRM-BP is located within the National Institute for Agricultural Research of Tours. Its facilities meet todays strict biosafety standards. The activity of the CIRM-BP is dedicated to the conservation, under the best available conditions, and the distribution of strains of  bacterial pathogens isolated from animals or from human as well as the distribution of their genomic DNAs. The access to pathogenic microorganisms is restricted to laboratories capable of certifying that biosafety and biosecurity measures, suitable for the ordered strains, do exist in their facilities.
     To meet the most demanding standards, a quality assurance program was set up which allowed to obtain the ISO 9001 certification in october 2008.

      The aims of the CIRM-BP are also to valorize the biodiversity of bacterial pathogens by establishing collaborations to study the biodiversity and molecular markers of pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Brucella spp. and Salmonella ssp.

     The CIRM-BP can also act as a partner in scientific projects to guarantee the quality of biological resources.

Brucella thionine inhibition test