A COLLECTION OF MICROORGANISMS AT THE SERVICE OF ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY: THE MYCOTHECA UNIVERSITATIS TAURINENSIS (MUT) EXPERIENCE

Background: The Mycotheca Universitatis Turinensis (MUT) is one of the largest collections of microorganisms in Italy. Currently it preserves about 5300 fungal strains isolated from very different habitats and substrates in arctic, temperate and tropical areas. Moreover since many years, the MUT is affiliated to the European Culture Collection Organization (ECCO) and to the World Federation of Culture Collections (WFCC). Objectives: In light of the rapid development of biotechnologies, the collections must not only guarantee the perfect strains preservation from a genetic, physiological and morphological point of view, but they also have to expand their activities using new technologies to better characterize their preserved organisms. Unfortunatly the operation and survival of MUT are exclusively due to funds bestowed by private companies since any funding from public agencies nor from the University of Turin is missing. Consequently the MUT carries out mainly applied research in different fields. The main research interests of the collection will be illustrated together with some examples of positive synergies between MUT and SMEs with the aim to innovate and develop new eco-friendly processes and products in textile industry, secondary metabolites production and biocatalysis. Conclusions: As a Biological Resource Centre, MUT provides the biological materials and the expertise needed to boost the bio-economy with the aim to explore and exploit the fungal biotechnological potential in different fields of application. Consortia set up with SMEs combine the scientific and technological skills, enabling integration and cooperation for research aimed at innovation.