MIAE : a collection dedicated to soil microbial diversity and environment (INRA, Dijon, France)

The MIAE (Microorganisms of Interest for Agriculture and Environment) structure is holding over 15 300 soil-borne microbial strains belonging to 48 genera of fungi (Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Trichoderma, Clonostachys, Alternaria…) as well as yeast (Saccharomyces), and oomycetes (Pythium, Phytophthora) and 13 genera of bacteria (Pseudomonas, Bradyrhizobium, Synorhizobium, Rhizobium…). These microorganisms have been isolated for over 30 years of scientific investigations related to soil functioning:-nitrogen cycle -fate of pesticides in the soil and underground water -plant-microorganisms loop in the rhizosphere -use of beneficial microorganisms to control development and infectious activities of plant pathogenic fungi -impact of agricultural practices on the ecology of soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi -bio-indicators of soil health. More than 100 strains a year are deposited at MIAE collection. So far, fungal and bacterial identification focused on cultural, chemotaxonomic and/or metabolic properties. At the present time a specific focus is being given to the molecular characterization and identification including the set up of appropriate molecular tools. Up to 2008, each microbial resource was preserved by the scientist involved in isolation, leading sometimes to orphan collections. The creation of a unique and common collection aiming at guaranteeing the preservation of these microbial resources and all the related data required a specific approach based on High Quality Standard. In that frame, the setting up of this collection and its management are performed to get in 2013 the certification ISO9001:2000. To achieve this, following items are under advancement: - preservation of microbial strains. Most of the strains are preserved at -80°C with glycerol in duplicate. Rhizoctonia and oomycota (Pythium, Phytophthora) are preserved on agar slants at room temperature. Long-term preservation protocols at 4°C are under evaluation.- exploitation and valorization of the collection, through a database. It will be used for the administration of the collection and the on-line catalogue- distribution of microbial strains to scientific community, for educational, research and industrial purposes, provided that Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is being concluded- national/international showcase via a MIAE webpage