A shared quality management system for Italian Culture Collections: The challenge of SUS-MIRRI.IT project

Quality management system (QMS) implementation is one of the main goals of the European Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI-ERIC), which operates actively on the design of standard guidelines. Culture collections (CCs) must manage the quality of their bioresources and guarantee the deposited microbial strains’ viability, purity, and identity according to internal standard operation procedures (SOPs). In this respect, the SUS-MIRRI.IT project aims to harmonize and improve the QMS of the Italian network of CCs. Within the activities of the project, three working groups dealing with (i) Common Collections Procedures, (ii) Compliance with the Nagoya protocol, and (iii) Code of Conduct on Biosafety and Biosecurity, are working to define a general and harmonized management system for the Italian CCs. The description of the common procedures is still in progress with the definition of SOPs for accepting microbial cultures, their quality check, and protocols for microorganisms’ preservation and distribution. Regarding the Legal compliance with the Nagoya protocol, starting from the Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) and Material Deposit Agreement (MDA) models recently published [1], a common document implementing MTA and MDA for the Italian CCs has been developed and proposed with the support of an external expert in law. The QMS should also address the capability of collections to meet all relevant national and international rules concerning the safe distribution of different bioresources. Accordingly, the working group on biosafety and biosecurity, which includes experts on human, animal, and plant diseases, is implementing guidelines for handling microorganisms based on their risks. The adoption of common rules for quality management is a challenging goal of primary importance for the CCs involved in SUS-MIRRI.IT to build a valid national network capable of responding to the needs of public and private actors in the fields of research and bioeconomy.