Gene pool maintenance and the prospects for using a special-purpose luminous bacteria collection

The culture collection maintained at the Institute of Biophysics (IB), Siberian Division, Russian Academy or Sciences, is the only deposit in Russia and CIS which contains about 700 strains of five species of marine luminous bacteria sampled in various sites of the World Ocean, The strains collected are used for identification of luminous bacteria; studying their physiology, biochemistry, and cytology; and developing concepts of organization and metabolism of luminous bacteria under natural and laboratory conditions. Methods of their storage and practical use are developed. The results of these studies are summarized in a data bank, which will be incorporated into the general network of data banks on microbial, cultures kept in Russia and into the inter-national network of data banks on microorganisms (MSDN), Systematization of information on luminous bacteria possessing a unique visual marker allows their extensive us in basic research and genetic engineering, for environmental and medical applications, and for biotechnological purposes.