Yeast culture collections of the world: meeting the needs of industrial researchers.

The importance of selecting optimal yeast strains for research or industrial applications is often underestimated. For example, utilizing a strain background that already provides the desired stress tolerance or nutrient utilization profile can eliminate costly strain optimization. Yeast culture collections can provide not only the yeast strains but also data and curator expertise to help narrow the search for the optimal strain. While some collections are known for a broad range of cultures and services, other "boutique" collections can provide a broader selection of strains of certain categories, a surprising amount of characterization data, and assistance in selecting strains. This article provides information on dozens of yeast collections of the world, profiles of selected yeast culture collections, and the services that they provide: e.g., strain preservation for patent or safe deposit purposes, species identification service, training workshops, and consulting on yeast identification and physiology. Utilization of these services can save industrial researchers valuable time and resources.