-RCC-

Members holdings

The Roscoff Culture Collection (RCC) maintains a diverse collection of marine microorganisms and associated biological resources, originating mainly from marine planktonic and coastal ecosystems (≈97% marine origin).

Group(s) of biological resources stored in the collection: bacteria (including photoheterotrophic marine bacteria),  cyanobacteria (including picocyanobacteria such as Synechococcus and related taxa), marine viruses (including viruses infecting phytoplankton and bacteriophages), eukaryotic algae (mainly marine microalgae - diatoms, dinoflagellates, haptophytes, green algae and other phytoplankton groups; macroalgae -limited research subcollection), protists (heterotrophic protists, parasitic protists of phytoplankton),associated genomic resources (including DNA extracted from selected strains for molecular analyses), associated morphologic resources (including pictures, SEM stubs).

The Roscoff Culture Collection currently maintains approximately 12,000 strains of marine microorganisms, of which about 9,500 strains are available for distribution to academic laboratories and private companies.

  • The collection is composed of several major taxonomic subcollections:
  • • Microalgae: ~5,158 strains (≈55%) including diatoms, dinoflagellates, haptophytes and green algae.
  • • Bacteriophages: ~1,739 strains (≈18%).
  • • Marine bacteria: ~1,356 strains (≈14%), including many photoheterotrophic bacteria associated with phytoplankton cultures.
  • • Cyanobacteria: ~677 strains (≈7%), including numerous Synechococcus isolates.
  • • Parasitic protists: ~233 strains (≈2.5%) infecting phytoplankton hosts.
  • • Macroalgae: ~162 strains (≈1.7%), mainly Ectocarpus species.
  • • Viruses (phytoplankton viruses): ~245 strains.
  • • Heterotrophic protists: 29 strains.
  • • Fungi and choanoflagellates: a few strains maintained as reference cultures.

  • About 3,000 strains are currently preserved by cryopreservation to ensure long-term genetic stability.
  • The strains originate from a wide range of marine environments worldwide, including coastal and open-ocean ecosystems from tropical to polar regions.

    • Services offered

  • Stock cultures (30 mL and 1L)
  • Microalgal identification
  • Culture media
  • Private repository
  • Cryopreservation of strains
  • Taxonomic and Culturing technics courses

    • Research

  • Roscoff Culture Collection’s research focuses on marine microbial diversity and ecology. Main topics include taxonomy and systematics of phytoplankton and cyanobacteria, physiology and environmental adaptation and omics approaches to explore functional diversity. Research also addresses microbial interactions, including virus–host dynamics, parasitic protists infecting phytoplankton, and metabolic interactions between phytoplankton and associated bacterial microbiomes.

    • Quality Management System

  • Database monitoring all events and information for the collection.
  • Compliance with the recommendations of ISO 9001:2015 (no certification)