|
|
|
Division of Natural Sciences
Center of Microbiology and Microbial Depository
|
General Information
The Center of Microbiology and Microbial Depository of the NAS of Armenia (CMMD) is the successor of the Institute of Microbiology (1961), NAS of Armenia and the Republican Center for Deposition of Microorganisms (1993), NAS of Armenia, and functions as the leading research organization in the Republic in the field of studying a biodiversity of microorganisms, their systematics, morphology, physiology, biochemistry and ecology. The Center is affiliated with some 800 culture collections around the world listed in the World Federation of Culture Collections (WFCC; http://www.wfcc.info/) under number 803. The total number of microbial cultures stored at the Center is over 10,000. Strains kept include bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and yeasts. Most of them were originally isolated, identified, and studied in Armenia and therefore represent a unique genetic pool and an invaluable wealth of information.
The CMMD are presented by the following departments and divisions: Microbial depository of microorganisms, laboratories of nitrogen-fixing, photo-synthesizing, biochemistry, genetics and selection of microorganisms and ore microbiology, groups of biotransformation and fermenting microorganisms, and technological department.
     In the CMMD are working 92 employees, including scientists and technicians - 65; 8 of them are doctors of sciences and 18 - candidates of sciences, 1 - academician of NAS, 1 - corresponding members of NAS, and 14 - engineers.
|
|
Main Fields of Activity
     The CMMD R&D activities are directed on creation profitable microbiological / biotechnological processes using valuable species of microorganisms for production of food and fodder products, biofuel and various biologically active substances. Most part of them dealt with:
Studying of Armenian microbial biodiversity, including systematics, morphological, physiological, biochemical, cytological and genetic properties of bacteria, filamentous fungi, yeasts, actinomycetes and algae;
Development of methodologies for long-term maintenance and efficient conservation of different groups of microorganisms;
Isolation of new perspective microbial strains for production of biofuel (biohydrogen, bioethanol, biogas) and biologically active substances;
Microbial biosynthesis and biotransformation processes studying for production of new biologically active substances and other preparations;
Metals microbial bioleaching processes studying from remote and sub-standard ores;
Regional microbiological biosafety, etc.
|
|
Main Results
     The CMMD maintains a vast collection of well-characterized entomopathogenic bacilli isolated from specimens from all over the world. These microorganisms are critically important for the production of efficient insecticidal preparations for the biological control of harmful insects. The special attention is paid to investigations of extremophilic bacilli. The researches on production of biofuel (bioethanol, biodiesel, biohydrogen) have been started.
Long-term fundamental investigations and developments of CMMD are applied to study of methane fermentation processes, bioleaching of rare and hard to reach metals, production of feed and food products, various microbial enzymes and other biologically active substances. On the basis of strains obtained bacterial insecticides preparations (BIP) and bacterial larvicide preparations (BLP) have been developed, therapeutic acido-lactic product "Narine", highly effective starters of edible mushrooms and fertilizers have been obtained.
|
|
Internartional Activity
     The CMMD successfully collaborated with numerous of international organizations and other national institutions within the European, US, Japanese, Russian R&D grants and contracts (ISTC, INTAS, CRDF, etc.).
|
|
Other Information
     The CMMD is engaged in publishing activity. In 1996 the Catalogue of Microbial Cultures was published. It compiled information on more than 6,000 microbial strains organized in sub-collections such as spore-forming and non-spore-forming bacteria - 4,500, filamentous fungi - 870, yeasts and lactic-acid bacteria - 500, actinomycetes - 200. The special Catalogue of Fungal Degraders of Polymeric Materials: Databases and Culture Collection with the Atlas published in 2005 contained the characteristics of about 1,000 fungi. The new version of the Catalogue of microorganisms is preparing for publication. Over the years, the CMMD promoted the edition of "Biological Journal of Armenia".
     The CMMD is the basic organization for Armenian Microbiological Association (AMA), which since September 2009 nominates as the Full member within Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS).
|
|
|
This site was visited 657215 times since 01.01.2005
|
|
