The Agroscope strain collection in Liebefeld contains more than 14,000 entries and is unique in Switzerland. It consists mainly of lactic acid (LAB) and propionic bacteria as well as mixed cultures from dairy products, sometimes isolated a very long time ago. These microbial resources represent the biodiversity of cheese cultures of the last century. They are an essential reservoir for the development of new cultures.
To make the most of this collection and utilise the full potential of the strains, it is essential to understand their specific characteristics. Robotisation makes it possible to characterize a large number of strains simultaneously, while the Biolog system, as well as the genomic sequencing allow in-depth characterisation of selected strains.
LABScience is at the interface between the MicroScope project, which aims to promote the quality, visibility and accessibility of Agroscope's microorganism collections, and research projects using these microorganisms. The aim is to develop and apply phenotypic and genotypic characterisation methods and to provide fundamental knowledge useful to several research projects, thus enhancing the value of microbial resources.