Petroleum and Energy Research Microbial Collection: ex situ preservation of microbial diversity associated to the petroleum industry and exploration of its biotechnological potential

The genetic and metabolic diversity of microorganisms has been explored for many years, with a view to obtaining numerous biotechnological products or processes of interest to modern society, such as biofuels, drugs, food, beverages, enzymes, bioremediation of toxic waste, among others. However, for the full development of these activities, it is essential that pure and authenticated microbial cultures are readily available for the execution of projects and/or application in biotechnological processes, justifying the need to establish and maintain collections of microbial cultures ex situ. In this context, the biological material preserved by appropriate methods in collections of cultures has an important role as a basis for the country's bioeconomy, allowing the technological development of products or processes in order to meet the specific demands of each sector of our society. The purpose of this project is the maintenance and expansion of the bank of microorganisms derived from the oil and energy industry, APPE - Petroleum and Energy Research Collection, aiming at its ex situ preservation, taxonomic, functional and genomic characterization and product prospecting or activities of immediate interest to the oil and gas sector.