DECEMBER 2017

23 Pages·2017·2.85 MB·English

WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS
Newsletter (No. 54)–DECEMBER 2017
Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources. His
views on the contributions of the WFCC toward
sustainable global future can be listened to at
http://fgsc.net/pub/101816-mccluskey.MP3.

Dr Marizeth Groenewald kindly continues to hold the
secretary position. She has provided incredible support
over the last 4 years and we look forward to working with
her again in this new term. I also would like to highlight
incredible support we were given by Dr Vera Bussas (c/o
DSMZ) as the treasurer of the WFCC over the last 7 years
and thank her.

We have also established a permanent Secretariat that is
GREETINGS FROM located within the Belgian Coordinated Collections of
Microorganisms – BCCMc/o Belgian Science Policy
THE NEW PRESIDENT AND
Office, 231 Avenue Louise1050 Brussels, Belgium. Ms
INTRODUCING THE NEW EXECUTIVE
Anne Depauw is our contact person and I thank her for
BOARD MEMBERS her contributions in the planning and execution of the
recent ICCC’14 Conference held in Singapore in July
2017.
Dear Members,
As you know global terror events placed us in a difficult
After a long gap, it is great to connect with you in this new position for the organization of the last ICCC’14 and your
issue of the WFCC Newsletter. safety being our priority we moved the conference to
Singapore and jointly run it with the IUMS-2017. It was
Firstly, I would like to thank all the members who elected not an easy decision as Turkish colleagues placed
me as the new WFCC President (2017-2020). I greatly significant effort into the preparatory work towards the
value your trust and look forward to working with all of you original venue in Antalya, Turkey. I wholeheartedly thank
in the next three years. I will ensure continuous them and wish the KUKENS President Prof. Bülent Gürler
communication and reach out to all our members at the a happy retirement and we look forward to another
four corners of the world. conference opportunity with them in the near future.

I thank former President Dr Philip Desmeth for his service Our next ICCC conference will be in Chile, chaired by
to the WFCC with full commitment, passion and Prof. Cledir Santos in 2019. There is information in this
dedication. I also would like to thank all the previous newsletter about the conference and we look forward to
board members who served with full commitment. I also seeing you there.
would like to congratulate the new board members and I
am proud to be supported by such distinguished At the WDCM front, Dr Juncai Ma and his team in China
members. Please see their names at with an impressive speed have been compiling a Global
http://www.wfcc.info/board/ . They will connect with the Catalogue of Microorganisms. He welcomes information
regional WFCC members in their continents and support from different parts of the world and he can be contacted
us with cross cultural and lingual aspects relevant to each at [email protected]. Please see his article in the newsletter
region. Please do not hesitate to be regularly in touch with providing update on the GCM.
the board member(s) in your area and invite them to
participate in your meetings, in that way we can connect We encourage you to be in touch with us regularly, send
and be aware of your needs. us your news, regional events taking place in your
surroundings as well as event pictures. Also forward your
We will continue to be linked with the CBD, OECD, GBIF, nominations for the Skerman Award. The 2017 Skerman
WIPO and the ISO. Current WFCC Vice-President Prof. was awarded to Dr Moriyuki Hamada from Japan for his
Kevin McCluskey will represent us at the CBD as one of contributions to the Micrococcal systematics and an
the members of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on article on his achievements is included in this newsletter.
1
Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
I have just returned from the International Microbial the Nagoya Protocol. This article is based on the
Sustainable Use Conference and the 14th Asian presentations made by both authors during this session.
Consortium for the Conservation and Sustainable use of
Microbial Resources http://acm14.bcrc.firdi.org.tw/ that The Nagoya Protocol
took place in Taipei, Taiwan, 4-6 December 2017. Asian
Consortium has been in an impressive progress and I The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has three
congratulate all their members for the successful objectives: (1) the conservation of biological diversity, (2)
organization of the Conference and their activities within the sustainable use of the components of biological
the Consortium. Next Conference will be in Mongolia in diversity and (3) the fair and equitable sharing of the
autumn 2018 and they look forward to seeing WFCC benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.
members there. The implementation of the third objective is ruled by the
Nagoya Protocol (the Protocol) (i) on Access and Benefit
Again, on behalf of the Executive Board and myself I wish Sharing (ABS) which entered into force on 12 October
you a very Happy Festive Season and a successful 2018. 2014. It seeks the effective implementation of the ABS
We look forward to hearing from all of you in the new year quid pro quo: benefit sharing with providers in return for
to be able to attend your needs. facilitated access for users.

With warm regards Establishing "the sovereign rights of states over their
natural resources" CBD article 15.1(ii) says that each State
Dr İpek Kurtböke decides on the regime of tangible ownership and access
President regulations applicable to its natural resources. Yet, CBD
article 15.1 does not mean per se that a State owns

genetic resources but it allows each and every State party
HOW THE CULTURE COLLECTIONS
to the CBD and the Protocol to control who is accessing,
COMMUNITY IMPLEMENTS THE
what is done and eventually to request for sharing the
NAGOYA PROTOCOL benefit that may arise from the utilization of the micro-
biodiversity. Utilization being defined as "to conduct
research and development (R&D) on the genetic and
Philippe Desmetha, Rie Funabikib
biochemical composition of genetic resources, including

using biotechnology [...]".
a Belgian Science Policy Office, avenue Louise 231,
Brussels, Belgium To abide by the laws established in the frame of the
Contact: [email protected] Protocol all microbiologists, including Culture Collections
b NBRC National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (CCs), must adapt their modus operandi to the new
NITE Biological Resource Center (NBRC) 2-5-8, paradigm where open access is replaced by controlled
Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba, 292-0818, Japan access exerted by a State upon its biological resources.
Contact: [email protected] Like the CBD, the Protocol set principles that have to be
converted into feasible regulation at national and/or
regional levels. Since 1999 culture collections develop
codes of conduct and guidelines to tackle these new legal
obligations.

Some issues of primary importance were neglected
during the negotiations of the Protocol and must be dealt
with afterwards, via pragmatic, applicable regulation at
regional and national levels. For instance, the cost-benefit
balance of an ABS system is overlooked, with the risk that
the control measures may cost more than the benefits the
system intends to redistribute. Also, key concepts such as
commercialization, placing on the market, R&D are not
defined clearly from the outset. That doesn't help reduce
legal uncertainty which is essential to foster investment in
R&D.

During the 14th International Culture Collections To build microbiology on solid ground microorganisms of
Conference held with the IUMS conference, from 17 to 21 fundamental scientific importance must be conserved and
July, a session was dedicated to the implementation of provided with the highest level of reliability to ensure
cumulative research and sustainable exploitation of
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Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
microorganisms. Microbiologists must adapt their way of conveyance of microbial genetic resources stored in
exploring the microbial realm and perform their activities culture collections. As of 2017 over 110 CCs from more
according to the new Protocol paradigm. CCs must share than 40 countries were participating to GCM. GCM is a
their pragmatic, cost-effective solutions with the powerful scientific tool as well as a way to build safe,
microbiologists to get a Protocol compliant scientific ethical and socio-economically balanced ABS processes
community. These sectors based rules adapted to the at global level. Systems like GCM are automated and thus
specificities of microbiology will mitigate the impact of the more cost effective. Yet non-negligible amount of
legal changes on the daily operations of microbiologists investments is and will be necessary to manage the flow
where cost effective and timely actions are crucial, for of data generated by ABS requirements.
instance when facing epidemics.
The NIEMA system (Network of International Exchange
of Microbes under the ACM) is a model of a best practice
MOSAICC, TRUST & NIEMA: solutions designed by
led by NITE Biological Resource Center in the Asian
WFCC members
Consortium for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of

Microbial Resources (ACM). NIEMA is a model of free
Contrary to many general microbiologists, CCs are fully
circulation of strains for non-commercial use within the
aware of the matters at stake regarding the ABS under
network. NIEMA structures a demarcated space where
the Protocol and its impact on daily operations in
material and information are relatively freely accessible
microbiology.
provided that the outputs are injected back into the open

space, to be shared again.
From the onset, it is important to recall Article 15(2) of the

CBD as the key stake in the ABS process: facilitated
NIEMA proposes a system in which streamlined
access to genetic resources is the prerequisite for any
exchange of strains for non-commercial use is carried out
advancement in life sciences.
while observing the provisions of the CBD and the

Protocol. While countries of origin have expressed their
The proactive contribution of CCs to the CBD and the
concerns about the apparent contradiction between easy
Protocol dated back to September 1997 when the Belgian
access and efficient control, NIEMA may ensure the
Coordinated Collections of Microorganisms (BCCM)(iii)
compatibility of both aspects. In this regard, it implements
launched MOSAICC with the support of the European
partly the microbial commons concept, to create an open
Commission. MOSAICC stands for «Micro-Organisms
access system, a zone of free circulation of key raw
Sustainable use and Access regulation International
material, for users adhering to a strict code of conduct.
Code of Conduct ». First issued in spring 1999, it is a

voluntary Code of Conduct focused on the
Example of regional implementation of the Nagoya
implementation in microbiology of the CBD and other
Protocol: the EU Regulation
applicable rules of international and national laws.

The European Union regulation implementing the
The first version of MOSAICC was issued in 1999, three
Protocol is designed with well-defined distribution of
years before the 2002 Bonn Guidelines(iv) that were the
competence between the member states and the EU
first achievement of the Parties of the CBD towards
level.
practical solutions for managing ABS. Although designed

by different groups of protagonists and in different times,
The EU regulation focuses on the compliance by the
MOSAICC and the Bonn Guidelines are fully compatible
users of the law of the countries where the genetic
because both are common sense driven.
materials originate. It leaves the access regulation in the

hand of the EU member states who effectively exercise
MOSAICC is the forerunner of TRUST, the latest initiative
their sovereign rights (CBD Article 15.1) on their natural
of WFCC collections, a global system to implement ABS
resources.
in microbiology. TRUST stands for «Transparent User-

friendly System of Transfer, for Science & Technology».
The corner stone of the EU legislation is regulation EU
511/2014(v). It is complemented by the EU Commission
TRUST is an example of sector specific ABS best implementing regulation EU 2015/1866(vi). Next to these
practices. It is a cost-efficient, simple, and fast multiple
legal texts, a consultative body, the ABS consultative
user, multiple purposes system. It combines the Code of
Forum has been put in place and several guidance
Conduct MOSAICC for the best practices with the Global documents, one horizontal Commission notice(vii) has
Catalogue of Microorganisms (GCM) for the technical part
been published and nine other sectorial guidance
of data and information management.
documents are prepared in collaboration with all players

of the civil society.
GCM was designed by WFCC World Data Centre for

Microorganisms (WDCM) and constitutes the data
management system facilitating access to and
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Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
Example of national implementation of the Nagoya 3. Allocation of benefits arising from the utilization of
Protocol: the ABS Guidelines of Japan genetic resources/associated traditional knowledge
to the conservation and sustainable use of biological
Japan ratified the Protocol on May 22, 2017 and became diversity
a Party on August 20, 2017. Since the adoption of the 4. Encouragement of information-sharing concerning
Protocol in October 2010, Japan has been supporting its the implementation of a concluded contract
implementation through the Japan Biodiversity Fund and 5. Development of model contractual clauses,
the Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund. voluntary codes of conduct, guidelines, best
practices, and standards concerning ABS
Apart from its contribution to international community,
with a view to effectively implementing the Protocol as a Now as a Party to the Protocol, Japan endeavours to
Party, Japan exerted efforts to lay down adequate continue its contribution towards attainment of the
domestic measures, which resulted in the “Guidelines on objectives of the Protocol and the CBD and their effective
Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable implementation.
Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization” (viii) (the
“ABS Guidelines”). The ABS Guidelines entered into force Next developments
on August 20, 2017, the same day Japan became a Party
to the Protocol. For 20 years MOSAICC and now TRUST reconcile the
expectations of all protagonists and incorporates their
The ABS Guidelines serve as measures governing business model into one system completed with ad hoc
compliance with the provisions of the Protocol as well as solutions such as NIEMA. Fortunately, that is also what
securing its steady and smooth implementation. The the Directorate General Environment of the European
outline of the ABS Guidelines is provided below: Commission is doing through the optimizing of the
implementation of EU Regulation 511/2014 and what
- Compliance Measures (corresponding to Art.15, 16, 17 Japan is looking for with its national Guideline for ABS.
of the Protocol) Responsible stakeholders like the protagonists working in
To address compliance with ABS legislation/regulatory the WFCC community are convinced of the relevance of
requirements of a provider country, the following modi the Protocol objectives. But many fear that big guns are
operandi are set forth: used to kill flies, in other words that significant amounts
1. Report concerning the lawful access to genetic allocated to the actual research may be diverted from their
resources and associated traditional knowledge goal and used only to set up a new bureaucracy, where
2. Submission of relevant information related to the marginal costs exceed profit it may generates.
utilization of genetic resources
3. Provision of reported information (1 and 2 above) to A good system doesn't need to be complex or coercive; it
the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House and must facilitate the daily work of all protagonists in such
posting of the said information on the website of the way that using the system is more profitable than
Ministry of the Environment of Japan bypassing it. The Protocol is meant to be set at national
4. Cooperation concerning alleged violation of ABS level. At the source, the countries that will organize an
legislation/regulatory requirements of a provider attractive web connected system will yield better socio-
country economic profits when R&D will be conducted in
cooperation with their nationals. On the other end of the
- Access Measures (corresponding to Art.6 of the Protocol) R&D chain, for the users, securing legitimate access to
The ABS Guidelines clearly state that Japan decides not to take biodiversity and securing their investments is as strategic
access measures as provided for in Article 6(1) of the Protocol, as securing access to energy for prospering states.
meaning that prior informed consent is not required for the

access to genetic resources existing in Japan, therefore an
In short, the Protocol is an evolution in the framework of
internationally recognized certificate of compliance (IRCC) will
the CBD aiming at regulating the exploitation of the
not be generated for genetic resources accessed in Japan.
world's biodiversity, it's not a revolution. The rules set by
- Encouragement of ABS frameworks (corresponding to the Protocol need to be implemented cost-effectively to
Art. 5, 9, 17, 19, 20 of the Protocol) enable profit-making and subsequent benefit sharing.
The ABS Guidelines also set forth the following modi Such goal may be difficult to reach when the
operandi to promote the ABS frameworks: implementation is a burden, not a help for economic
1. Issuance of documents concerning the acquisition of agents and costs more than the profits actually reaped.
genetic resources in Japan
2. Encouragement of concluding contracts which The latest developments in the negotiation for the
contain provisions on the fair and equitable sharing interpretation of the Protocol go towards regulating the
of benefits sequencing of genomes and the use of these data. When
looking at the explosive increase of sequencing data and
4
Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
the ensuing struggle to process and manage such the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising
overwhelming data amount, the obsessive will to regulate from their Utilization in the Union.
some basic activities in life sciences seems a heresy in http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
terms of cost/benefit ratio as well as in direct contradiction content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2014.150.01
with the two first objectives of the CBD. .0059.01.ENG& toc=OJ:L:2014:150:TOC
Should the Parties to the Protocol jeopardize the (vi) Commission implementing regulation EU
conservation and the sustainable use of the earth biome 2015/1866 of 13 October 2015 laying down
for short term economic misperception? Scientist must detailed rules for the implementation of
remain alert and advocate sound integrated management Regulation EU 511/2014 of the European
of the raw material and related data for R&D. Parliament and of the Council as regards the
register of collections, monitoring user
WFCC has a key role to play by dialoguing with the parties compliance and best practices
to the Protocol, with regional political entities such as the http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
European Union authorities as well as with other content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32015R1866
stakeholders. CCs underpin R&D in microbiology, (vii) Commission notice - guidance document on the
microorganisms are everywhere and form the very basic scope of application and core obligations of
raw material for biotechnology, and therefore WFCC is a Regulation (EU) N° 511/2014 of the European
major interlocutor in the implementation of the CBD and Parliament and of the Council on the compliance
the Protocol worldwide. measures for users from the Nagoya Protocol on
Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and
On behalf of all WFCC members, the WFCC Executive Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their
Board advocates a pragmatic approach with benefit for Utilization in the Union.
all, in a cooperative way and a collaborative spirit. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52016XC0827
References %2801%29
(i) Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic (viii) Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and
Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising
Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the from Their Utilization
Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted on https://absch.cbd.int/database/record/ABSCH-
the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties MSR-JP-238074
on 29 October 2010, in Nagoya, Japan.
http://www.cbd.int/abs/text/
(ii) CBD Art 15.1 Recognizing the sovereign rights of UPDATE FROM THE WDCM
States over their natural resources, the authority
to determine access to genetic resources rests
Dr Juncai Ma
with the national governments and is subject to
national legislation. Director
https://www.cbd.int/convention/articles/default.sh

tml?a=cbd-15
(iii) BCCM is a public support programme of the Belgian WDCM takes the responsibility to develop an effective
Science Policy Office that funds and coordinates information environment that promotes and sustains
a consortium of microbial collections since 1983. microbial research data activities, sharing and use to help
BCCM is ranked in the world top ten centres advance progress and bridge the gaps within and outside
providing for microbiological material, information the microbiology communities. WDCM has also
and services. developed a series of databases for international culture
http://bccm.belspo.be/ collections and important organizations, which provide
(iv) Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic support to more culture collections on the way to modern
Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the BRC. Until now, 114 international culture collections from
Benefits Arising out of their Utilization. Bonn 45 countries have joined GCM to share their more than
Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and 400,000 microbial strains, and help them to develop
Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising online catalogue as well as homepage to share their
out of their Utilization. strains data all over the world.
https://www.cbd.int/doc/publications/cbd-bonn-

gdls-en.pdf
(v) Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 of the European The year 2016 is the 50th anniversary of WDCM, and a
Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on memorial ceremony was held for celebration on 6th-8th
compliance measures for users from the Nagoya September 2016 in Beijing, China. During this conference
Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and WDCM and Center for Microbial Resources and Big Data
5
Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
of the Institute of Microbiology of CAS (IMCAS) jointly Several documents, developed through the years by
released the “2016 Microbial Resource Development biobanks, are now on the table providing the
Report for China”. 6. It is the first report on China’s requirements to be assembled in the new standard.
microbial resource development. The report describes Among these we can find the OECD Best Practice
and evaluates the development of microbial research in Guidelines, the NF S 96-900 standard and, also, the ISO
China and provides a reference for formulating research standards 9001 and 17025.
plans and the direction of development. In the report,

scientists analysed papers and patents related to
microbial research based on microbial resource Three years passed and we have now the ISO DIS 20387
collections in China. standard disclosed, eager for scrutiny by biobanks. The
standard’s public consultation stage is ongoing and all the

interested parties (IP) are invited to comment whether
they are ISO members or not.

The standard is structured by eight clauses. The
requirements initiate within the 4th clause which conveys,
among others, requirements for the mBb impartiality and
confidentiality. The 5th clause includes general provisions
and requirements for personnel and limits for externally
provided activities. Clause 6 provides requirements for
resources: personnel, infrastructure, externally provided
processes, products and services, principles of access
and equipment. The operational requirements come with
the clause 7. Even though the ISO 20387 is not a quality
management system (QMS) standard, it conveys
requirements to implement one of those systems. So, the
organisations complying with ISO 9001:2015 will easily
comply with this clause. Requirements for documentation
are provided by the annex A. Annex B provides guidance
and examples to implement Annex A.
Releasing the “2016 Microbial Resource Development
Report for China”. To achieve a high-quality standard (useful, consistent,
aligned with the other ISO standards and providing

accurate, relevant and easily understandable provisions)
THE ISO DIS 20387 STANDARD the standard-setting activities must be carefully planned.
Understanding these steps would facilitate the standard
DISCLOSED
analysis. In general, the standard setting projects
encompass the following stages:
Anabela Martins, Paulo Sampaio, Nelson Lima
(1) The establishment of the scope.
It is December 2014. While snow is falling in Berlin, The scope is based on the standard’s objectives
biotechnology experts from around the world are (the outcomes the standard seeks to achieve)
gathered at the Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN) to and the boundaries for the applicability of the
bring to light the first International Organisation for standard. It must be clearly established and
Standardisation Technical Committee (ISO TC) 276 described as it will underpin the standard’s
meeting. Cooperation between the Biological Resource provisions and though dictate the adequacy to
Centres’ (BRCs) four domains – plant, animal, human and users.
microbial - to unify standardisation has finally happened. (2) The type of standard and the recognition scheme.
The decision about the type of standard to

develop must be preceded by decisions about the
The discussion is centred on the development of a new recognition scheme to adopt as each scheme has
standard (ISO 20387) that would help BRCs - all now its specificities for the standard content and
gathered under the umbrella designation “biobank” - to format.
manage the quality of their operations. If the goal is an accredited certification, the
developers must decide between management
6
Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
system standards (type A or B), a standard Two internal comment periods (inside the TC276)
designed to personnel certification or a standard have already taken place. Hundreds of
aiming to certify services, products and comments were received, discussed and added
processes. If the goal is an accreditation to the standard.
scheme the standard must be approved/adopted Two public consultation periods have been
by an accreditation organisation. The standard planned before the publication is made. The next
must be designed focusing on the biobanks’ (and last) period is planned for the meddle of
competence to provide a specific service (clearly 2018.
identified) in a credible manner. The standard (6) Publication.
must be draft in order to ensure that objective and The publication of the final draft of the ISO 20387
reproducible audit/assessment scheme is in standard (FDIS version) is planned for the end of
place. Only in this case the standard may 2018.
adopted by accreditation organisations such as
Commenting stage demands from CCs deep thought
IAF and ILAC.
about what their management goals are and a deep
(3) The structure of the standard.
evaluation about appropriateness of the standard to
The structure depends on the type of standard to
achieve those goals. A risk assessment in the
developed. The ISO 20387 standard was
implementation could be a helpful tool to prepare the
developed to fit an accreditation scheme; its
commenting. Nevertheless, several aspects might be
structure is very similar to that of ISO/IEC FDIS
considered, such as:
17025 standard.
(4) The standard content. • Does the standard cover all the relevant
The standard conveys two main categories of mBbs’ issues?
provisions: recommendations - recognised by the • Are all the requirements easily
word “should” - which implementation is not understandable and feasible?
mandatory, and the requirements - recognised by • Are all the requirements relevant for mBb?
the word “shall” - which implementation is • Are there not applicable requirements (for
mandatory. The requirements must be draft in mBb)?
order to be clear, objective and verifiable: they
must convey criteria and the method to evaluate
To provide their opinions, interested parties need to ask
the fulfilment of the criteria.
their national standard bodies (NSB) for the ISO DIS
Requirements on the standard must not block
20387 standard and the proper commenting template.
innovation and flexibility in biobanks. They should
Comments must be sent to the NSB that, in turn, must
be expressed in terms of process management
send them to ISO before the October 11th. NSB’s
and performance criteria.
information and contacts can be found in the ISO website
Terms and definitions must be used consistently
[https://www.iso.org/members.html, accessed 2017-08-
within the document and be as much as possible
30].
aligned with ISO terms and definitions namely
with the “ISO TR 20386 - Biotechnology —
Inventory of biotechnology-related terms”, which
Currently, the ISO TC 276 deliverables go far beyond the
is under development by the TC276’s working
ISO 20387. Five working groups were established to deal
group (WG) 1.
with all biotechnology challenges and sixteen standards
(5) Public consultation (commenting period).
are under development, including a guide to help the
Interested parties (heads of culture collections,
implementation of ISO 20387, the “ISO TR 22758”.
curators, quality managers, bio-industry,
Interested parties might also comment on those
microbiologists, governmental officers, auditors,
standards; they only need to be aware of the public
among others) are invited to participate in the
consultation periods identified in the standard’s lifecycle
standard’s development by providing the ISO TC
(https://www.iso.org/committee/4514241/x/catalogue/p/0/
276 with comments and suggestions on the
u/1/w/0/d/0, accessed 2017-08-30).
standard. Microbial biobanks (mBb) might
provide a valuable contribution to the standard’s
appropriateness and relevance, as participation
The mBb are called to share their knowledge and
of experts from this domain is lacking. Comments
expertise with ISO TC 276 in order to ensure the
received by the TC276 will be discussed seeking
appropriateness of the ISO 20387 standard to the
consensus. For each comment, the decision will
microbial domain. Their comments and suggestions will
be “approved” – and the standard will be changed
certainly be valuable to raise the quality of the standard
in accordance – or “not approved”. Justification
that will probably use in a near future.
for all decisions will be recorded and made
available under request.
7
Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
2017 SKERMAN AWARD WINNER
BUDAPEST - THE INTERNATIONAL
MICROORGANISM DEPOSIT SYSTEM
Dr MORIYUKI HAMADA
Ewald Glantschnig
Head
Budapest Treaty Section
Patent Law Division
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Geneva – Switzerland

The Budapest System provides a practical business
solution when pursuing patents involving biological
material in 80-member countries through the recognition
of one international recognized deposit with an
international depositary authority (IDA). Apart from
Contracting states, three regional patent offices

participate in the BT: The European Patent Office (EPO),
Biological Resource Center, National Institute of
the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) and the African
Technology and Evaluation (NBRC), 2-5-8
Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO).
Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan

Dr Hamada since 2006 is employed at the Biological
Currently 46 institutions in 25 countries are holding the
Resource Center, National Institute of Technology and
status of IDA. 27 (16 countries) in Europe, 13 (5
Evaluation (NBRC) and currently holds the Curator
countries) in Asia/Pacific, 5 (3 countries) in North America
position at the Institute. He completed his BSc at the
and one in South America. The youngest IDA established
Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science
is the Culture Collection of Switzerland AG (CCOS) which
and Technology, Shinshu University and obtained his
achieved IDA status on January 16 of this year.
Ph.D. in Medical Engineering at the Integrated School of
Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi in
Japan. His outstanding taxonomic research at the NBRC
Since the Budapest Treaty became operational In
led to the Young Scientist Award, Society for
February 1981, until December 2016 there were some
Actinomycetes Japan in 2015.
102.000 overall deposits made Overall deposits in 2016

(5,110) were on a record level and some 4.5 % higher
He proposed 9 new genera and 33 new species as the
compared to 2015 (4,893), and samples furnished totalled
first author and the examples include Arenivirga gen. nov.
4,510.
Hamada et al. 2017, Austwickia gen. nov. Hamada et al.
2011, Luteimicrobium gen. nov. Hamada et al. 2010,
Lysinimicrobium gen. nov. Hamada et al. 2012,
The Treaty makes the patent system of the contracting
Mobilicoccus gen. nov. Hamada et al. 2011, Piscicoccus
State more attractive and is primarily advantageous to the
gen. nov. Hamada et al. 2011 Sediminihabitans gen. nov.
depositor if he is an applicant for patents in several
Hamada et al. 2012, Serinibacter gen. nov. Hamada et al.
contracting States; the deposit of a microorganism under
2009 and Tropicihabitans gen. nov. Hamada et al. 2015.
the procedures provided for in the Treaty will save him

money and increase his security. It will save him money
because, instead of depositing the microorganism in each Such meticulous and quality research led his recognition
and every contracting State in which he files a patent and appointment as the Secretary, Subcommittee on the
application referring to that microorganism, he will deposit Taxonomy of the Suborder Micrococcineae, International
it only once, with one depositary authority. The Treaty Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes in July 2014 as
increases the security of the depositor because it well as serving as the Committee member, Subcommittee
establishes a uniform system of deposit, recognition and on the Taxonomy of the Suborder Micrococcineae,
furnishing of samples of microorganisms. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes
from November 2011 to July 2014. He has published

extensively and examples of his peer review papers
The Budapest Treaty was concluded in 1977. include

8
Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
Hamada, M., Shibata, C., Saitou, S., Tamura, T., Award to Dr Hamada and wish him every success in the
Komaki, H., Ichikawa, N., Oguchi, A., Hosoyama, A., future years to come.
Fujita, N., Yamamura, H., Hayakawa, M. and Suzuki, K.
(2015). Proposal of nine novel species of the genus
Lysinimicrobium and emended description of the genus
Lysinimicrobium. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 65, 4394-
4402.
Hamada, M., Shibata, C., Nurkanto, A., Ratnakomala,
S., Lysdiyanti, P., Tamura, T. and Suzuki, K. (2015).
Tropicihabitans flavus gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member
of the family Cellulomonadaceae. Antonie van
Leeuwenhoek 107, 1299-1306.
Hamada, M., Tamura, T., Yamamura, H., Suzuki, K.
and Hayakawa, M. (2012). Lysinimicrobium mangrovi
gen. nov., sp. nov., an actinobacterium isolated from the
rhizosphere of a mangrove. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.,
62, 1731-1735.
Hamada, M., Iino, T., Iwami, T., Harayama, S., Tamura,
T. and Suzuki, K. (2010). Mobilicoccus pelagius gen.
nov., sp. nov. and Piscicoccus intestinalis gen. nov., sp.
nov., two new members of the family Dermatophilaceae, NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS
and reclassification of Dermatophilus chelonae (Masters
et al. 1995) as Austwickia chelonae gen. nov., comb. nov.
J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol. 56, 427-436.
Update from the US Culture
Hamada, M., Iino, T., Tamura, T., Iwami, T., Harayama,
S. and Suzuki, K. (2009). Serinibacter salmoneus gen. Collection Network
nov., sp. nov., an actinobacterium isolated from the

intestinal tract of a fish, and emended descriptions of the
families Beutenbergiaceae and Bogoriellaceae. Int. J.
Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 59, 2809-2814.

and the examples of his book chapters include

Hamada, M. (2017). Diaminobutyricimonas. In Bergey’s
Manual of Systematic of Archaea and Bacteria. (edited by
Whitman). John Wiley, Chichester, DOI:
10.1002/9781118960608.gbm01302.
Hamada, M. (2017). Galbitalea. In Bergey’s Manual of
Systematic of Archaea and Bacteria. (edited by
Whitman). John Wiley, Chichester, DOI:
10.1002/9781118960608.gbm01303.
Hamada, M. (2014). The family Beutenbergiaceae. In

The Prokaryotes. Actinobacteria. 4th edn. (edited by
Rosenberg, DeLong, Lory, Stackebrandt and Thompson). Figure 1. USCCN Sponsored Participants at ICCC14. L-R, S. Kang
Springer, New York, pp. 133-140. (Penn State), S. Sung (ATCC), K. Mccluskey (FGSC), S. Baker
Suzuki, K. and Hamada, M. (2012). Genus I. (PNNL EMSL), K. Boundy-MIlls (UCD Phaff), D. Nobles (UTEX
Algae), H. Manzour. (Not shown, I. Sitepu, P. Uhlir)
Microbacterium. In Bergey’s Manual of Systematic
Bacteriology. 2nd edn. vol. 5 (edited by Goodfellow,
Kämpfer, Busse, Trujillo, Suzuki, Ludwig and Whitman). After over five years of successful activities, the US
Springer, New York, pp. 812-848. Culture Collection Network enters into an extension year
to allow participation of US Scientists in the ICCC14 (see
His current research area includes isolation, taxonomy above).
and ecology of non-filamentous actinobacteria and mainly

the order Micrococcales. He designed selective isolation
protocols for this order which resulted in the detection of The USCCN network has successfully met goals
previously unknown members of the order. WFCC originally identified in its proposal in 2011. Among these,
members were delighted to present the 2017 Skerman the establishment of off-site backups has benefitted from
USDA efforts in the same capacity. Now many US
9
Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info
collections are formally backed up at the USDA National two different laboratories: (1) bacteria laboratory and (2)
Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation at Ft. fungi laboratory. The laboratories were equipped with
Collins, Colorado (the site of our 2015 meeting). freeze dryer, freezer -80 °C, chillers, basic microbiology
Additional goals of promoting engagement of curators in equipment and cryopreservation tank -196 °C which
the US and international communities are demonstrated allocated at different building as a back-up system.
by the participation of many leading US collections at the UNiCC also planning for ISO 17025 in Antimicrobial
ICCC14. The USCCN has also supported student Susceptibility Test (AST) and Identification of bacteria
internships at three different collections and participation using molecular methods.
in formal training activities. Broader impacts by the
USCCN are highlighted by outreach to student and
community groups, through the engagement of partner
societies and collections in USCCN activities, and
through leadership by USCCN scientists in issues
surrounding the Nagoya Protocol to the CBD.
While future activities of the USCCN depend on
identification of funding, the community developed by the
USCCN activities is stronger and more resilient because
of the USCCN.

UPM COLLECTION UNICC –
ESTABLISHMENT OF CERTIFIED
MICROBIAL CULTURE COLLECTION,
MALAYSIA

Tan Geok Hun1,2, Musliyana Mansor2 and Nor Umaira
Abu Asan2
1Department of Agriculture Technology, Faculty of
Agriculture, 2 Microbial Culture Collection Unit, Institute
of Biosciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Email: [email protected]

Microbial Culture Collection Unit (UNiCC) was
established in 2008 as the main culture collection in UPM
research and teaching by focusing on microbes isolated
from food, agriculture and the environment. It is providing
services and expertise in isolation, identification,
preservation and quality checks of microorganisms. It has
expanded the service, such as antimicrobial assay and
NGS bioinformatics facility. It also serves as safe-keeping

for recombinant microbes that had been developed by the
university researchers. To date, a total of 1187 microbial
strains have been deposited.

UNiCC was certified with ISO 9001:2015 for the scope of
Management and Implementation of Research, and the
system operation was developed according to (1)
Procedure of Receiving Cultures (Material Acquisition
Agreement, MAA); (2) Procedure of Microorganisms
Supply (Material Transfer Agreement, MTA), and (3)
Procedure for Quality Checking of the Cultures (QC). The
facilities in the laboratory were distributed according to
10
Edited by Dr Ipek Kurtböke, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS http://www.wfcc.info