UNIMORE

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

Partner

The UNIMORE Microbial Culture Collection (UMCC) is located at the Department of Life Science of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and preserves more than 3000 strains, including yeasts, acetic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria isolated from different food and beverages substrates. UMCC offers a useful service for research, teaching, industry and biotechnology. Technical platforms of UMCC Group include basic and specialized facilities for microbiology and molecular biology, laboratory fermenters, analytical equipment, and bioinformatics software for data management. The isolation and the identification of microorganisms, the qualitative and quantitative studies of microbial functionalities, but also the long-term maintenance of UMCC is ensured by preservation techniques and periodically checking of viability, purity, authenticity, and key features of microorganisms, implemented by the research group dedicated to UMCC. Additionally, UMCC provides molecular and phenotypic screening of microorganisms and set up customized tests for assessing the technological performance in different conditions. UMCC is a member of the  European Culture Collections’ Organization (ECCO), of the  World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) and participates to MIRRI ERIC infrastructure. The research group comprises a staff with specific and multidisciplinary skills, including fermentation, taxonomy, ecology, biology, informatics, and competences on functional starter cultures for food production. UMCC is also specialized in bacterial cellulose synthesis from defined media and agri-food wastes which is of interest for many sustainable biotechnological applications.

Collection:

• UMCC – UNIMORE Microbial Culture Collection

Key people:

• Mattia Pia Arena
  UMCC curator – Researcher in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Microbiology
• Stefano Cassanelli
  Agricultural genetics
• Andrea Pulvirenti
  Associated Professor in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Microbiology
• Maria Gullo
  UMCC Coordinator – Associated Professor in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Microbiology