The work under way at the MIR- 

 CEN at the Karolinska Institute has 

 centered on development of micro- 

 biological techniques for applying 

 pattern recognition methods for 

 identification of microorganisms, as 

 well as other rapid methods for iden- 

 tification, including microtiter plate 

 methods. Environmental studies are 

 also under way, as well as produc- 

 tion of ethanol in liquid two-phase 

 systems. 



Several research projects are un- 

 der way in the area of biological 

 nitrogen fixation at the MERCEN 

 located at the University of Hawaii 

 (NifTAL Project). The International 

 Network of Legume Inoculation Tri- 

 als continues at the Hawaiian facili- 

 ty in the NifTAL Project and MIR- 

 CEN, carrying out a three-step 

 program, with the first experiment 

 being development of inoculation 

 recommendations based on strain 

 selection information. The focus of 

 the Hawaiian MIRCEN is nitrogen 

 fixation by tropical agricultural le- 

 gumes, with core budget support ob- 

 tained through contract with the 

 U.S. Agency for International De- 

 velopment and special funds also 

 provided by several organizations, 

 including UNESCO. In conjunction 

 with the NifTAL Project, a MIR- 

 CEN at the Cell Culture and Nitro- 

 gen Fixation Laboratory at Belts- 

 ville, Md., also is carrying out 

 studies on collection, characteriza- 

 tion, documentation, and preserva- 

 tion o( Rhizobium, on distribution of 

 cultures of Rhizobium for research 

 and inoculum production in devel- 

 oped and developing countries, and 

 on microbial germ plasm of useful 

 nitrogen-fixing organisms. The ef- 

 fort in Rhizobium biotechnology is a 

 recurrent theme among the several 

 MIRCENs around the world. 



The WDC MIRCEN at the Uni- 

 versity of Queensland is of obvious 

 benefit to world microbiologists. 



As a sequel to a request from the 

 Japanese Federation of Culture Col- 

 lections, a group of specialists met in 

 Paris, France, in July 1966, under 

 the auspices of UNESCO, to consid- 

 er problems relating to culture col- 

 lections, and at that time it was 

 recommended that a survey of cul- 

 ture collections be carried out. The 

 International Association of Micro- 



VOL. 49, NO. 2, 1983 



biological Societies (now the Inter- 

 national Union of Microbiological 

 Societies) section on culture collec- 

 tions agreed to survey the world 

 culture collections, with the result- 

 ing publication by Wiley Intersci- 

 ence. New York, in 1972, of the 

 World Directory of Collections of 

 Cultures of Microorganisms. A sec- 

 ond edition of the directory is fiinded 

 by UNESCO, FAO, WHO, UNU, 

 UNIDO, UNEP, and the European 

 Economic Commission. The MIR- 

 CEN is now assembling the second 

 edition of the World Rhizobium Cat- 

 alogue. 



A very important part of the 

 MIRCENs are the training courses, 

 such as a 6-week training course in 

 legume-/?^i2o6ium technology, 

 which was held fixim 1 November to 

 10 December 1982 in Bangkok. 



Thus, the importance of applied 

 microbiology for the developing na- 

 tions is significant, with benefits to 

 be derived in fields as diverse as 

 agriculture, the fermentation indus- 

 try, public health, water supply and 

 sanitation, environmental conserva- 

 tion and resource management, and 

 production of food fodder and ener- 

 gy. Applied microbiology, now 

 marching under the more trendy 

 term biotechnology, is strongly in- 

 terdisciplinary, interfacing engi- 

 neering, applied mathematics, 

 medicine, agriculture, the veteri- 

 nary sciences, food science, toxicolo- 

 gy, and other related areas. 



The potential of biotechnology 

 has been realized through the for- 

 mation of the UNEP-UNESCO- 

 ICRO panel on microbiology. The 

 panel includes the U.S. representa- 

 tives Martin Alexander, Depart- 

 ment of Microbiology, Cornell Uni- 

 versity, Ithaca, N.Y., and David 

 Pramer, Waksman Institute of Mi- 

 crobiology, Rutgers University, Pis- 

 cataway, N.J. Under the auspices of 

 the panel, "Global Impacts of Ap- 

 plied Microbiology" (GIAM) confer- 

 ences have been held in major cities 

 of the world over the yesu^, includ- 

 ing Stockholm, 1963; Addis Ababa, 

 Ethiopia, 1967; Bombay, India, 

 1969; Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1973; Bang- 

 kok, 1977; and Lagos, Nigeria, 1980. 

 The conferences bring together 

 about 100 microbiologists fi\)m de- 

 veloped countries, with an equal 



number of colleagues from develop- 

 ing regions, where the conferences 

 are held. 



In addition to the GIAM confer- 

 ences, about 60 training courses, 

 based on a traditional ICRO pattern, 

 have been held in developing coun- 

 tries on nitrogen fixation; fermenta- 

 tion technology; waste treatment 

 and recycling; fermented foods; bio- 

 logical pest control; veterinary mi- 

 crobiology; environmental microbi- 

 ology, including biomass and biofijel 

 production; cultxire collection main- 

 tenance; and related subjects. The 

 courses last about 3 weeks and in- 

 clude 15 to 30 participants, with not 

 more than one-third originating in 

 the host country. At lesist half of the 

 conference is spent in bench work, 

 with the faculty consisting of ex- 

 perts from the region supplemented 

 with professors from abroad selected 

 in consultation with the panel. 



Clearly, the networks and MIR- 

 CENs have made a significant dif- 

 ference in the way microbiology is 

 practiced in developing countries. 

 This program has served to inte- 

 grate microbiology infrastructures 

 of developed and developing coun- 

 tries by promoting the holding of 

 international conferences in devel- 

 oping countries and helping to 

 introduce problems of developing 

 countries into the programs of con- 

 ferences held in developed countries. 

 The success of these activities is due 

 largely to a policy of cooperation at 

 the working level, with many gov- 

 ernmental, intergovernmental, and 

 nongovernmental organizations 

 participating, all of which provide a 

 constellation of activities, with core 

 funding from UNEP and UNESCO 

 and with additional funding from 

 FAO and UNIDO providing a high 

 multiplier factor. 



The MIRCENs network publish- 

 es newsletters, including MIRCEN 

 News, information about which can, 

 be obtained by contacting Dr. E. J. 

 Da Silva, Division of Scientific Re- 

 search and Higher Education, 

 UNESCO, Place de Fontenoy, Pans 

 7, France, or Professor T. Rosswall, 

 Secretary of the Panel, Dept. of Mi- 

 crobiology, Swedish University of 

 Agricultural Sciences, S-750 07 

 la, Sweden. 



Rita R. Colwell 



73 



