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A Worid Network for 

 Environmental, Applied, and 

 Biotechnological Research 



The United Nations Education- 

 al, Scientific, and Cultural Organi- 

 zation (UNESCO) program in envi- 

 ronmental and applied microbiology 

 and biotechnological research traces 

 its origins back to 1946, when 

 UNESCO supported research that 

 was geared to the conservation and 

 applied use of microorganisms. The 

 International Cell Research Organi- 

 zation (ICRO) was founded in 1962, 

 with support from UNESCO. Since 

 that time, UNESCO activity in the 

 microbiological field has been done 

 in cooperation with ICRO and with 

 the International Organization for 

 Biotechnology and Bioengineering 

 (lOBB) and the World Federation 

 for Culture Collections (WFCC), 

 both of which were founded in the 

 early 1970s with UNESCO support 

 and encouragement. 



After the United Nations Confer- 

 ence on the Human Environment, 

 which was held in Stockholm, Swe- 

 den, in 1972, the United Nations 

 Environment Program (UNEP) 

 joined the international scientific 

 community via ICRO in setting for- 

 ward a worldwide program for pre- 

 serving microbial gene pools and 

 making these materials accessible 

 to developing countries. Additional 

 support has been given by such 

 United Nations agencies as the Food 

 and Agriculture Organization 

 (FAO), the World Health Organiza- 

 tion (WHO), the United Nations In- 

 dustrial Development Organization 

 (UNIDO), and United Nations Uni- 

 versity (UNU). 



A major development of the 

 UNEP-UNESCO joint venture was 

 the establishment of a world net- 

 work of microbiological resource 

 centers (MIRCENs). The objectives 

 of the MIRCENs were established as 

 providing an infrastructure for a 

 world network which would incorpo- 

 rate regional and interregional coop- 

 erating laboratories geared to the 

 management, distribution, and use 

 of the microbial gene pools; reinforc- 

 ing efforts relating to the conserva- 

 tion of microorgamsms, with em- 

 phasis on Rhizobium gene pools in 

 developing countries with an agrari- 



an base; fostering the development 

 of new and extensive technologies 

 native to specific regions; promoting 

 the applications of microbiology to 

 strengthen world economies; and 

 serving eis focal centers for the train- 

 ing of manpower and diffusion of 

 microbiological knowledge. 



The first development of the 

 world network was to establish the 

 World Data Center (WDC) for 

 microorganisms at the University of 

 Queensland, Brisbane. Australia. 

 The WDC was designated a MIR- 

 CEN, and at the WDC a master copy 

 of the World Directory of Collections 

 of Cultures of MicroorgEuiisms is 

 stored. The WDC serves as a pivotal 

 point for fostering development of 

 culture collections in developing 

 countries and in strengthening in- 

 teractions with activities concerning 

 culture collections in developing 

 countries and developed areas. 



Other MIRCENs which have 

 been established include a regional 

 MIRCEN in Bangkok, Thailand, at 

 the Thailand Institute of Scientific 

 and Technological Research, which 

 serves the microbiological communi- 

 ty of Southeast Asia via exchange of 

 economically important microbial 

 strains, training and fellowship pro- 

 grams, and promotion of research on 

 organisms in areas of microbiology 

 appropnate to Southeast Asia. A 

 MIRCEN at the Karolinska Insti- 

 tute in Stockholm, Sweden, serves 

 as a collaborating facility with the 

 WDC in mapping potential metabol- 

 ic strategies in fingerpnnting of 

 microorganisms. 



Especially active MIRCENs are 

 located at the University of Nairobi, 

 Nairobi, Kenya, and in Porto Ale- 

 gre, Brazil, at the Instituto de Pes- 

 quisas Agronomicas, and focus on 

 nitrogen fixation. The latter MIR- 

 CEN collaborates closely with the 

 Universidade Federale do Rio Gran- 

 de do Sul in Porto Alegre. A MIR- 

 CEN also has been established at 

 the Central Amencan Research In- 

 stitute for Industry in Guate"hiala, 

 which serves Central America in the 

 field of biotechnology. 



Over the years, the MIRCENs in 

 different areas of the world have 

 focused on specific topics. For exam- 

 ple, in the region of Ecist Africa, the 

 Nairobi MIRCEN focuses on Rhuo- 



bium technology, playing a pivotal 

 role in the conduct of research and 

 training concerning Rhizobium 

 holdings in the region and dissem- 

 ination of cultures and information 

 pertaimng to these activities. Train- 

 ing courses have been organized and 

 symposia have been held on agron- 

 omy, plant breeding, physiology, 

 crop protection for farming systems, 

 and nitrogen fixation. Similarly, the 

 MIRCEN at the Instituto de Pesqui- 

 sas Agronomicas, in collaboration 

 with the Universidade Federale do 

 Rio Grande do Sul, has emphasized 

 nitrogen fixation in Latin America, 

 with the objective of promoting Rhi- 

 zobium technology. A large culture 

 collection is being maintained, with 

 cultures distributed to research lab- 

 oratories and inoculant factories. 

 Training of researchers, extension 

 workers, and industrial technical 

 staff also is carried out. 



The Bangkok MIRCEN is very 

 active in culture collection activities 

 and is responsible for the microbial 

 culture collection development in 

 that region, which includes Thai- 

 land, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phil- 

 ippines, the Republic of Korea, and 

 Singapore. 



The MIRCEN at Ain Shams 

 University, Cairo, Egypt, promotes 

 activities in the fields of biotechnolo- 

 gy and culture collections. More 

 than 1,000 cultures are available in 

 the various laboratories in that re- 

 gion with formal links to the MIR- 

 CEN. Training courses on conserva- 

 tion of microbial cultures and 

 development of culture collections 

 have been held at the Cairo facility. 



The MIRCENs in the Caribbean 

 region are coordinated through the 

 Guatemala facility. Recently, a sem- 

 inar, "Fuels and Chemicals from 

 Biomass through Fermentation," 

 was held in San Jose, Costa Rica, 

 with the objective of promoting ex- 

 changes between Latin American 

 scientists and eminent North Amer- 

 ican scientists in the field of energy 

 from biomass. Subsequently, train- 

 ing courses in bioengineering have 

 been held, with psuticipants from 

 Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, 

 Equador, Guatemala, the United 

 States, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, 

 El Salvador, Paraguay, and the Do- 

 minican Republic. 



ASM News 



