Bacterial Type Strains

Why it’s important

Bacteria are essential for environmental and human health, playing vital roles in nutrient cycling, decomposition, drug discovery, digestion, vitamin production, and so much more. Numerous prokaryotic species are also detrimental to our well-being and can result in serious illnesses that could be potentially life threatening. Understanding these organisms and identifying new species can be of great benefit toward identifying novel industrial applications, ensuring correct disease diagnoses, and developing new therapeutic interventions.

When identifying a novel bacterial species, having a point of reference for identification is of tremendous value. Type strains provide this reference as they are made up of living cultures that were descended from a strain designated as the nomenclatural type. These strains are often—but not always—the first strain of a species to be identified, and their phenotypic and other physiological properties are typically well defined. Because they provide a fixed reference point, type strains play a critical role in defining bacterial phylogeny and can help facilitate identifying new species and evaluating the genomic differences between strains within a species. A type strain can also act as a benchmark when choosing the right strains for a particular research project. 

How we can help

When new type strains are identified, the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP) and International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (IJSEM) have stipulated that they must be deposited in two or more public culture collections in different countries. As a recognized culture collection in the United States and a member of the World Federation for Culture Collections, ATCC accepts proposed type strains through our Type Strain Deposit service and makes those essential cultures available to the scientific community. 

Our growing collection of type strains currently includes over 4,900 bacterial strains. Approximately 700 of those strains have whole-genome sequencing data on the ATCC Genome Portal. We are working to offer genome sequences for all type strains. We also offer nucleic acid preparations for many of these type strains as well. Explore our growing collection of type strains to see how we can support your research.