-COSMI-
  • Collection name: Collection of Sea Microorganisms
  • Acronym: CoSMi
  • WDCM number: 1209
  • Institution: National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS
  • Address:
    Via Auguste Piccard 54
    34151 Trieste
    Italy
  • Website: https://cosmi.ogs.it
    Website of the catalogue or database of the collection:  https://cosmi.ogs.it/strain/
  • Correspondence data:
    E-mail: fcerino@ogs.it, cosmi@ogs.it
    Tel.: +39 0402140743
    Correspondent: Federica Cerino

Member holdings

Group(s) of biological resources stored in the collection: eukaryotic algae.

  • The CoSMi Collection ensures the long-term storage and distribution of marine microalgae for research, biotechnological applications, industry, and education.
  • CoSMi maintains over 100 strains of unicellular, autotrophic microalgae belonging to the major groups of diatoms, dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, and flagellates, with a focus on potentially toxic dinoflagellates and diatoms responsible for blooms.

    • Services offered

  • Distribution of microalgae
  • Public and safe deposit
  • Supply of starter cultures
  • Isolation
  • Morphological identification

    • Research

  • The CoSMi activities are closely related to the research activities of the phytoplankton group at OGS, focusing on:
  • • the study of phytoplankton ecology in different marine environments to understand the dynamics of different organisms in relation to environmental conditions across spatial and temporal scales
  • • the study of phytoplankton diversity by combining classical methods (microscopy and physiological experiments) with molecular approaches (metabarcoding)
  • • the study of phytoplankton responses to different environmental forcings through controlled laboratory experiments, combining growth and transcriptomic analyses to assess physiological and molecular adaptations
  • • the study of phytoplankton biomass applications in biotechnology, with particular focus on the use of coccolithophores in CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage), by studying their response to increasing CO2, elevated nutrient conditions, and resilience to wastewater

    • Quality Management System

    ISO 9001:2015 (obtained in July 2025)