The USDA-ARS Culture collection is one of the largest public collections of microorganisms in the world, containing approximately 98,000 isolates of bacteria and fungi. The collection is housed within the Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research Unit at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois. The scientists and staff of the ARS Culture Collection conduct and facilitate microbiological research that advances agricultural production, food safety, public health, and economic development. Materials in the ARS Culture Collection are available free of charge (shipping costs are charged), with a limit of 24 strains per lab annually. Isolates can also be deposited into the NRRL for long-term security and global distributions. Information about the ARS Culture Collection is available at: NRRL ARS Culture Collection.
ARS maintains other microbial collections also, including the U.S. National Fungus Collections and the Entomopathogenic Fungal Cultures Collection. Information about these collections are available at: Biocollections of USDA.
NLGRP serves as the secure back-up site for the ARS Culture Collection and other microbial collections. For more information about agreements and depositing microbial collections for black-box storage at NLGRP, please visit Secure Microbe Storage at NLGRP.