The British Health Security Bureau Cultural collection. The four repository accepts thousands of three severe preserved microorganisms, and some samples go back to World War I and in the late 19th century.th century. Their mind is the National Type Cultures (NCTC) founded in 1920, one of the oldest collections in the world and one of the oldest components of UKHSA.
The scientific resources held in this collection, not museum sculptures, have been proved to help solve the most urgent public health problems in the last 100 years. From identifying emerging pathogens to dealing with antibacterial resistance, find out how old samples of this century will help to protect today’s health and strengthen the defense of future threats.
I was frozen on time
Why is this strain useful for scientists even after 100 years?
NCTC 86 ESCHERICHIA COLI and NCTC 6571 Staphylococcus Aureus Story,,, Only two of the thousands of bacterial strains that can be found in the collection show a method that can be used for many applications in the science and industry today.
E. coli -NCTC 86 story
Inside the internal organs of all human beings, there is a short bacterial species or E. coli called E. coli.
While many people associate it with food poisoning, most E. coli is actually harmless to humans. Bacteria bring that name Theodore EssueBavarian pediatricians, which were first separated in 1885, are combined with the colon (after discovery) and E. coli (meaning ‘colon’), indicating a natural existence. Escherich published his discovery in scientific papers the following year.
Tension was maintained in the Esther Laboratory through scientific career. Then, before the NCTC collection in 1920, it was distributed among the British institutions, including Cambridge University’s Pathology Laboratory, Royal Sewage Treatment Committee, and Institute for Preventive Medicine.
The NCTC is operated by the UK Health Security Agency, maintaining the original deformation of Eskeri in the 20th and early 21st century, 140 years after the original isolation, and still exists under the identifier ‘NCTC 86’.
But why does scientists maintain bacteria in the same collections of NCTC? And considering that E. coli can be found not only in humans but also in many mammals, what is the specific variation of E. coli?
Many lives of microorganisms
- Lab
Scientists can use it as a quality management deformation. It is a ‘known amount’ that helps the test work correctly. It also played an important role in the development of MacConkey Agar, a growth medium used in laboratories around the world, and used to inform the difference between E. coli (often harmless) and Salmonella (which can cause serious food poisoning). 20 years oldth The strength is also used as a disinfectant test strain, which helped to effectively operate industrial disinfectants and household cleaning products.
- Human health
Escherich first explained this bacteria by investigating how the intestinal bacteria affect human health. By preserving his original tension, we maintained a valuable reference point for modern research. Today, scientists study how E. coli’s other strains can affect our health in ‘Microbial Research’.
- Digital pioneer
In the modern era of the entire genome sequencing, NCTC 86 found another new purpose. This was one of the 3,000 bacterial strains in our collection. Project known as NCTC3000. Genetic blueprints are now It is provided free online So that researchers can study and inspect -once the physical archive of microorganisms is now transformed into a digital gene library.
Currently, the doctoral student who works with NCTC and East Anglia University will help to understand how this important bacteria have evolved over time by comparing the Genetic composition of NCTC 86 over the first century over time.
S. Aurreus -NCTC 6571 Story
Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus) is a bacteria that can be harmless to the human body, and 30%of humans are long -term carriers in the skin, nose holes or reproductive tubes. However, it can cause serious diseases, including soft tissue infections, toxic shock syndrome and sepsis.
In 1943, Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered Penicillin’s discovery of medicines, deposited the S. Aurreus strain in the collection of NCTC. This strain, known as Oxford Staph or Oxford Grape Glucose, was used for penicillin tests at Oxford University. After 80 years, the same historical microorganisms (under the identifier NCTC 6571) continue to play an important role in the study.
Another notable early adapter of NCTC 6571 was a British biologist and a biochemist Norman Heatley and a member of the Oxford team that developed penicillin. Heatley used it to measure how strong each of the drugs is, which was important because it was difficult for penicillin to produce new and consistently.
In this context, the use of NCTC 6571 continued after World War II. Since 1949, NCTC has produced and supplied more than 8,000 samples of bacteria to researchers around the world.
Why is NCTC 6571 for this purpose? Interestingly, no one knows exactly why this certain strain was adopted. FLEMING sends a staphylococcus culture used for penicillin tests in a letter sent to NCTC. I got it from Florey, and we all use it in the penicillin test. ‘
The origin of the NCTC 6571 and the reason for it seems to have been lost in time.
New discovery on old samples
As the genome sequence is easier, we can now read the complete gene code of the bacteria by providing additional insights to samples preserved for decades.
For example, NCTC scientists recently seized 133 strains as part of the NCTC3000 project, including NCTC 6571 of FLEMING. Scientists were interested in genes that made some of this strain harmful to humans known as a single gene.
During the test of genetic data, researchers found two unknown two -inch toxin genes. Surprisingly, at least one of these genes is in a circulating strain today. This shows how the preserved bacteria in the past can help us understand today’s health threats.
In addition, the second NCTC/UEA PHD student is currently insight into the intestinal toxin gene evolution by currently using data science and machinery learning technology to analyze thousands of S. Aurreus strains that analyze the world’s separated S. Aurreus strains.
Living tool
Unlocking the potential of microorganisms is not limited to Oxford in the 1940s. Microorganisms are valuable resources that lead scientific innovation, and scientists perform amazing features that continue to use to develop new technologies.
For example, some microorganisms are as follows:
- ‘Eating’ artificial plastic (IDEONELLA Sakaiensis NCTC 14201)
- Natural antibiotic production (Streptomyces Griseus NCTC 13033)
- It shows how fast some bacteria can evolve antibiotic resistance (AMR) (E. coli NCTC 13846)
- Some bacteria serve as a model for studying how and why human diseases are caused (Streptococcus pneumoniae NCTC 14077).
Support scientific progress
The NCTC collection also plays an important role:
New antibacterial test
Researchers use our strains to evaluate new antimicrobial agents (NEISSERIA GONORHOEAE NCTC 14208) and evaluate new diagnostic technologies (Staphylococcus Aureus NCTC 14245).
Scientific knowledge expansion
If scientists find bacteria that are not known before science, they can be compared with the standard strains of collections such as Campylobacter Jejuni (NCTC 11168) and Campylobacter Lanienae (NCTC 13004).
Actual application
The microorganisms of the collection are used to evaluate everyday infection prevention practices such as hand cavity with warm water to cold water (E. coli NCTC 10538) and antibacterial resistance (Klebsiella pneumoniae NCTC 13368).
Others can be used in a few years that we can only imagine today.
future
Throughout the last century, the predictions of those who preserved these fine organisms have given us valuable resources, and only the entire value of the heritage began to realize as modern technologies such as the entire genome sequencing are further developed and accessible.
