Preservation of Cultures

Microorganisms for quality control work should be purchased from an international culture collection registered with European Culture Collection's Organization (ECCO) or the World Federation of Culture Collections (WFCC). The CCUG would be pleased to provide coordinates to other ECCO collections.

CCUG provides strains as freeze-dried (lyophilized) biomass in glass ampoules; we do not preserve cultures in liquid N2.

Freeze-drying is the CCUG preferred method for long-term preservation of microorganisms to be distributed at room temperature. Most lyophilized cultures will remain viable for decades or centuries if kept in the dark at a temperature of +4°C to +8°C. (Some fastidious organisms like Helicobacter spp. constitute an important exception, and storage of freeze-dried Helicobacter pylori should not exceed 3 years).