The Spanish Type Culture Collection (CECT) is the only public Microbial Biological Resource Centre (mBRC) in Spain serving as a repository and provider of bacteria, archaea, yeast and filamentous fungi.
Mission
The mission of CECT is to preserve and provide microbiological material for research, education, quality control and industrial applications, maintaining high quality standards in its procedures, based on international standards and guidelines, while ensuring compliance with legal requirements related to the use of microorganisms.
In line with this mission, CECT offers its users the following services:
- Deposition of bacteria, archaea, yeasts and filamentous fungi under public, restricted, or patent purposes according to the Budapest Treaty
- Supply of bacteria, archaea, yeasts, filamentous fungi and viruses in different formats, ensuring their viability, authenticity and purity
- Identification and characterisation of bacteria, archaea, yeasts and filamentous fungi
- Training and consultancy in all aspects related to the handling and use of microbial resources, including legal aspects
- Lyophilisation and storage services for biological material under controlled conditions
Vision
The conservation of microbial biodiversity at a global level and a commitment to the sustainable use of microbial resources in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), expanding and improving services to meet user needs.
CECT acts as an interface connecting Spain with international efforts in this field and collaborates with other Biological Resource Centres (BRCs) to enhance European competitiveness in biotechnology.
Main features
Started by Prof. J. R. Villanueva as a research collection in Madrid (1960), the CECT moved to Salamanca, then to Bilbao and finally to Valencia under the direction of Prof. F. Uruburu. It is housed at the University of Valencia (1980) where it became a Service (1991) satisfying the requirements of an International Depositary Authority (IDA, 1992). The CECT was headed by Prof. E. Garay from 2003 to 2012 and subsequently by Prof. R. Aznar, its current director.
It is registered at the WDCM (number 412) and is a Member of the WFCC (1977) and ECCO (1983). The first edition of the Catalogue (1976) listed 436 strains but since then the collection has grown steadily and currently registers over 8200 strains (2022).
The CECT holds the ISO 9001 certificate (2004) and complies with the OECD Best Practice Guidelines for BRCs; it is located in high-quality facilities at the Scientific Park of the University of Valencia. The CECT actively participates in European and International initiatives working together with mBRCs to share good practices and experience in order to meet the demands of academic and industrial communities (GBRCN, EMbaRC, MIRRI…). Currently, CECT, representing UV, is part of the Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure - European Research Infrastructure Consortium (MIRRI-ERIC, www.mirri.org), established by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1204 of 16 June 2022.
Future challenges
Our future goals include: expanding our services to meet users’ demands; providing tailor-made services/courses; combining marketing strategies with academic standards, and establishing cooperation agreements for biotechnological exploitation.
