Brazilian open microorganism bank

The Brazilian government is funding an open collection of indigineous microrganisms that will stave off the practice of foreign companies coming to the south, taking what grows there, and locking it away in patents that the countries of origin can't afford to license.

The microbe bank — dubbed the Brazilian Collection of Environmental and Industrial Microorganisms — is housed at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and was inaugurated on 24 February.

''We intend to put this collection at the service of the scientific and industrial community, by preserving, identifying, maintaining and distributing these microorganisms,'' says biologist Lara Sette, the collection's curator...

Specimens in the 'public access deposit' will be available to public and private institutions to use for research or teaching. The 'safety deposit' will house specimens whose identity and related information are kept confidential and to which access will be restricted.

The third section will include specimens deposited to satisfy Brazilian legal requirements, which state that a sample of any biological material moved between public or private institutions, nationally or internationally, must be deposited in an institution accredited by the Ministry of Environment.

Link (via Worldchanging)