Provision and maintenance of micro-organisms for industry and international research networks.

Biological Resource Centres of preserved micro-organisms provide important biological resources for industry, agriculture and research. The development of cryopreservation methods has enabled the stocks of organisms to be maintained in a stable form free from the hazards of contamination, genetic variation and laboratory accidents. Resource centres can therefore offer reliable and reproducible sources of particular micro-organisms and groups working on biodiversity have methods available to carry out in vitro biological conservation. Nevertheless, some micro-organisms remain recalcitrant to standard cryopreservation methods and new developments in cryopreservation techniques are needed to provide the necessary methodologies for reliable preservation of some important micro-organisms.