Landcare Research - Manaaki Whenua

Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua

International Collection of Microorganisms from Plants (ICMP)

Major international collection of living cultures for plant associated bacteria sourced globally, and of fungi from New Zealand and South Pacific.

ICMP is an international, publicly available collection of live cultures of fungi and plant–associated bacteria. It has major, worldwide collections of plant pathogenic bacteria, along with rhizobia. The fungal cultures are mainly from New Zealand and the South Pacific region.

The ICMP contains over 22 000 strains of fungi and bacteria. Most strains are stored using liquid nitrogen or in vacuum–dried ampoules. The ICMP laboratory is a MAF approved PC2 Containment Facility and a Transitional Facility for Microorganisms. The collection is registered as WDCM 589.

Cultures are mainly held for research purposes and to substantiate species records. Requests for cultures are welcome from researchers globally. A charge is made for the supply of cultures, this charge covers the costs of culture maintenance, supply, and added value, but does not include any fee for the actual organism itself. Mail and courier costs are additional.