RESOURCES
Culture Collection
Culture Collection – A4F
Types of preserved organisms
The A4F Culture Collection is mainly composed of microalgae, including strains from the Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta and Cyanophyta groups. It also includes macroalgae belonging to the Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta and Ochrophyta groups, as well as some strains of fungi and bacteria, broadening its scientific and biotechnological value.
Number of strains and samples
The collection currently comprises more than 80 strains and more than 150 samples, carefully preserved to ensure their long-term viability and safety.
Purpose of the collection
The collection is primarily intended for scientific research and technological development, while also supporting commercial applications and serving as a strategic back-up for industrial projects, including cryogenic preservation.
Highlights and curiosities
A4F has developed production processes up to pilot and industrial scale for most of the strains in the collection. Notably, more than a dozen strains were isolated from Portuguese origins, reinforcing the potential valorisation of national biological resources.
The A4F Culture Collection is a high-value strategic repository, comprising approximately 70 microalgae strains and 10 macroalgae strains, recognised for its diversity and industrial relevance. A4F’s ability to produce most strains up to pilot and industrial scale ensures the robustness, continuity and safety of the biotechnological assets used in industrial projects. In addition, A4F provides services in strain isolation and characterisation, domestication and adaptation, screening of cultivation conditions, and development of the complete scale-up chain, from laboratory to industrial scale.