During the time
the collection has been
funded (1975 - present), the number of accessions has increased
by approximately 5-fold.  The number of
strains in the collection
has increased over this time period because of incorporation of
collections from Lipha-Tech, the Boyce Thompson Institute, USDA,
ARS in Minnesota, the University of Sao Paulo in Piracicaba,
Brazil, and the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical
(CIAT) in Cali, Colombia. The acquisition of the type strains and
original isolations by ARS scientists also have added to our
holdings. We estimate that the size of the resource will double
over the next five years. However, we encourage our colleagues to
deposit cultures with us, especially if strain characteristics
have been published in peer reviewed scientific journals. This
is especially relevant for collections of strains for which
diversity has been reported. Also, we encourage those who only
work with a single or a few strains to consider sending them to
us for preservation and distribution.
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Although some strains are more popular
than others, the
number of requests for any one specific strain is less than 5% of
the total. The higher volume has increased expenditures for
postage and has consumed more resources and man hours for quality
control and culture preservation. However, we do not charge for
our cultures or for their shipment. Understandably, we cannot
provide cultures by special delivery unless special circumstances
warrant us to do so.