The University of Bucharest is pleased to announce that the Culture Collection of the University of Bucharest, acronym CCUB, has been officially registered with the World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM), under the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC). CCUB has been assigned the registration number WDCM 1350.
This registration formally recognises the collection as part of the global network of microbial resource centres, making its holdings discoverable to researchers, biotechnology companies, and public health institutions worldwide through the WDCM’s international database. The full profile of the collection can be consulted online.
The registration was recorded by the WDCM on 15 July 2026 and confirmed on 27 July 2026, following review by the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which administers the WDCM’s global registry on behalf of the World Federation for Culture Collections.
About the World Data Centre for Microorganisms
The WDCM is the global information hub for microbial resources, operating under the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) and the World Data System of the International Science Council. It compiles and curates data on culture collections from around the world, supporting international scientific collaboration, biodiversity research, and the responsible exchange of microbial resources.
About the Culture Collection of the University of Bucharest (CCUB)
The collection (WDCM 1350, acronym CCUB) is hosted by the Research Institute of the University of Bucharest (ICUB) and currently holds 2,800 microbial strains — 800 bacterial and 2,000 fungal — of which 1,450 were isolated in Romania, alongside strains obtained from the international culture collection deposition. The collection covers general, medical, applied and industrial microbiology, agriculture, fermentation, plant pathology, environmental protection, molecular biology, systematics and taxonomy, genetics, physiology, biochemistry, food science, and culture and preservation methods (including freeze-drying). Strains are maintained through electric-freezer storage, subculturing, freeze-drying, and, for fungi, storage under sterile mineral oil, in sterile distilled water, and on filter-paper discs, with regular purity, viability, identity and contamination testing.
The collection supports teaching and research activities and provides strains and related services to the scientific community, in accordance with agreed access and benefit-sharing terms.
This official registration of CCUB in WDCM reconfirms the broader commitment of the University of Bucharest to biodiversity preservation and open science.
“Registering the University of Bucharest’s culture collection with the World Data Centre for Microorganisms is an important step toward safeguarding Romania’s microbial biodiversity for future generations of researchers. Every strain we preserve today is a resource we owe to tomorrow’s science.”
— Prof. Dr. Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc, Vice-Rector for Research, University of Bucharest
“This registration reflects years of careful work to collect, characterise, and preserve microbial strains that are part of Romania’s natural heritage. Our goal is to keep these genetic resources available to scientists long after us.”
— Prof. Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Abdel-Azeem, Director, CCUB / ICUB
Collection Team
Director: Prof. Abdel-Azeem Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed
Curators: Assoc. Prof. Lobna Hajji-Hedfi (Phenotypic Identification of Fungi)
Ms. Georgiana-Alexandra Grigore (Bacterial Identification)
Ms. Emilia-Andreea Tănase (Extracellular Enzymes)
The collection is supported by a team of 12 staff across mycology, bacteriology, molecular biology and identification, culture collection data and documentation, and culture collection and preservation.
Contact Information
Prof. Abdel-Azeem Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed — Research Institute of the University of Bucharest (ICUB)
Email: ahmed.abdelazeem@icub.unibuc.ro
Reference: WDCM Culture Collections Information Worldwide (CCINFO), registration no. 1350 — https://ccinfo.wdcm.org/details?regnum=1350
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