IMTECH conducts workshop on Advanced Techniques in Microbial Systematics

The workshop being held on 14th to 18th October will help participants from various regions of the country to get a hands-on training on advanced methods of microbial identification and long term preservation of microorganisms

Chandigarh: CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) is organizing a workshop on Advanced Techniques in Microbial Systematics from 14th to 18th October 2019 being coordinated by Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank (MTCC).

The workshop is under the Government of India’s Skill Development mandate to upgrade skills and expertise for the young researchers and faculty in the area of Microbiology. Participants from various regions of the country are attending the workshop for getting a hands-on training on advanced methods of microbial identification and long term preservation of microorganisms which would help them in their future research and academic activities.

Dr S.P. Gautam who is a member of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPSC) and also served as the chairman of Pollution Control Board, inaugurated the workshop with his talk on holistic approach of science.

Twenty participants from different academic, research institutes as well as from industries attended the workshop. Workshop focused on various analysis such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, whole cell fatty acid analysis (FAME) along with hands-on training on systems such as VITEK2, MALDI-Biotyper, OMNILOG, etc. which are going to help the researchers in rapid and accurate identification of microorganisms and long term preservation methods.

Dr Manoj Raje, Officiating Director, CSIR-IMTECH while welcoming the participants gave a brief background of CSIR-IMTECH & MTCC and said, “MTCC is India’s first bio-bank and IDA repository and was set up with the aim to preserve microbial heritage. With the passage of time, it incorporated newer techniques to stay relevant and meet future challenges.” He also said, “The main focus of this workshop is to develop insights on identification and long term preservation of microbes. This workshop enables to increase employability and entrepreneurial potential of the participants in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.”

Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank (MTCC) is a national repository for microorganisms established in 1986 in CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh. MTCC, currently, holds around 15000 microbial cultures (bacteria, fungi and yeast) and supply them to academia, Industry and scientific community.

MTCC is recognized as an International Depositary Authority (IDA) by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Budapest Treaty. Various advanced and sophisticated instruments of MTCC is one of its assets to prove its advancement in the rapid microbial identification. In addition to the services provided to the nation, MTCC staff is actively engaged in exploring the microbial diversity of diverse habitats of India to explore them for potential applications and their conservation.