Biological collections of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi represent an appropriate place to deposit fungal isolates used in experiments and holotypes and paratypes of newly described species, documenting and preserving the taxonomic, genetic and physiological diversity of these fungi. In addition, collections can provide other services such as the preservation of commercial fungal strains, check the quality of inoculants for producers and industry, explore molecular methodologies to accurately identify and monitor AMF species, and provide technical information and training for users in academia or industry (Gianinazzi et al. 2010).
Despite the widely recognized role of AMF in providing ecosystem services in natural ecosystems and agricultural systems, only few AMF collections exist worldwide.
INVAM – International Culture Collection of (Vesicular) Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi.
1985-1990: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. Curator: Norman C Schenck e Yvone Perez.
1990-2023: West Virginia University, em Morgantown, WV, EUA. Curator: Joseph B. Morton.
2023-present: The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, EUA. Curators: James D. Bever, Peggy A. Schultz, Liz Koziol, Terra Lubin.
The collection has 1112 accessions, distributed in 17 genera and 112 species (out of a total of ca. 350).
Link: http://invam.ku.edu
BEG – The International Bank for the Glomeromycota. BEG is located at Pôle Interactions Plantes-Microorganisms of INRA, in Dijon, França. The curator is Dr. Dirk Redecker. BEG collection had 41 isolates, distributed in 11 genera and 31 species.
Link: http://www.i-beg.eu
GINCO – Glomeromycota In vitro Collection. GINCO is located in the Université Catholique of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. This collection is a result of mutual efforts of researchers from Belgium and Canada and it representes the largest collection of AMF grown exclusively in vitro. Curator is Dr. Franck Stefani. The collection had 19 isolates, distributed in 4 genera and 10 species pertaining to Glomeraceae and Claroideoglomeraceae.
Link: http://www.mycorrhiza.be/ginco-bel/index.php
CMCC – Centre for Mycorrhizal Culture Collection. This collection is part of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), in India. The culture collection was established in 1993 and it has 350 AMF isoltes, 16 of them being available for researchers. The isolates are distributed in 7 genera and 12 species.
Link: http://mycorrhizae.org.in/cmcc/index.php
In Brazil, besides CICG that started its activities in 2010, a culture collection of AMF is maintained by EMBRAPA.
COFMEA – Collection of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi of EMBRAPA Agrobiology. This collection is located in Seropédica, RJ, Brazil, and it is part of the Center of Biological Resources Johanna Dobereiner. The curator of this collection is Dr. Orivaldo Saggin-Júnior. The collection has 50 isolates distributed in 30 species.
Link: https://www.embrapa.br/agrobiologia
Gianinazzi S., Gollotte A., Binet, M-N., van Tuinen D., Redecker D., Wipf D. 2010. Agroecology: the key role of arbuscular mycorrhizas in ecosystem services. Mycorrhiza, doi 10.1007/s00572-010-0333-3