This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 312251.

The ESFRI project MIRRI [EU INFRA-2012-2.2.5, FP7 Grant Agreement No.: 312251]

Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure

A microbial Domain Biological Resource Centre: mBRC

2012 Preparatory

Phase

2018-19 Implementation

Phase (ERIC)

2010 ESFRI road Map

Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure

Launched in 2012, the pan-European Microbial Resource Infrastructure (MIRRI) is part of the Biomedical Research Infrastructure (RI) ESFRI landscape.

Italy in MIRRI

2015 MIRRI in

PNIR

Currently, more than 30 public biorepositories and research institutes from 19 European countries collaborate to establish MIRRI as a

European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) under EU law.

The vision of MIRRI is to be a unique pan-European high-performance platform adding value to known and yet unknown microbial biodiversity and exploiting unknown sources and knowledge to discover and disclose for the bioeconomy and bioscience. MIRRI will generate solutions to societal challenges by stimulating interaction between academia and bioindustry.

MIRRI within the Global Biological Resource Centre Network

GBRCN

User community

1) MIRRI serves Bioscience and Bioindustry users by facilitating access to a broad range of high quality bioresources and data in a legal compliant way. By offering access to human expertise and providing a collaborative platform for long-term sustainability of microbial biodiversity MIRRI will increase knowledge and promote professional development. This diverse pool of microbial resources will bring a boost of innovation to bio-industry as well as to research.

MIRRI Mission Statement

2) At the European level (EU/ESFRI), MIRRI creates synergies with other RIs whilst globally it collaborates with to other microbial resource Ris. MIRRI will complement other ESFRI initiatives by covering yet underrepresented but important research areas in biotechnology.

MICROORGANISMS RED = pharmaceutical, medical applications; e.g. regenerative medicine, gene therapy, new drugs; disease or population driven

GREEN = agri – food applications, e.g. improvement of plant breeding techniques, development of GM crops and plants

BLUE = applications from marine organisms

WHITE = industrial applications; processing and production of chemicals, materials, energy; or GREY = environmental applications; sustainable technological solutions to protect environment, classical fermentations

3) MIRRI underpins national interests supporting the protection of the investment, empowering bioeconomy growth and increasing the competitiveness of the country. Microorganisms constitute the raw material for research in Biotechnology, Agriculture, Food and Biomedicine.

Expected MIRRI improvement

today tomorrow

MIRRI aims to provide a collaborative work environment inspiring excellence and to drive collaboration across borders and disciplines. Within concerted efforts, the consortium partners coherently and jointly work together with the objective to alleviate the current fragmentation of bioresource holdings and information, and eliminate duplication and redundancy at the national and pan-European level. MIRRI brings together research, education and industry to promote global responsibility towards biodiversity and to construct an innovative Europe.

Coordination of MIRRI offer

Resources & Services: access to microbial resources; provision of new innovative services as requested by the user community. Data: increased access to data associated with microbial resources by consolidation of existing data fragments; ensuring generation of validated and interoperable new data.

MIRRI is an open, distributed and service-oriented infrastructure composed of experienced mBRCs which offer innovative services to its users, i.e. researchers from academia, industry and public domain. The MIRRI Offer will be accessible via the MIRRI Portal which serves as central entry point for requests.

Access to Technology: physical access to state-of-the-art technologies and services established at the MIRRI partner mBRCs. Knowledge Transfer: consultancy available via the MIRRI Expert Platform; fields of expertise comprise e.g. legal issues, taxonomy and quality management. Education & Training: interdisciplinary programs for students, researchers, industry and mBRC staff.

MIRRI is situated within a gigantic bio-industry sector with > 50,000 biotech companies in Europe, with

~ 22 million employees, generating

~ 3 trillion Euros (2014-2016)

What is the need for MIRRI?

http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Issues/Business-environment/building-a-better-working-world

Between 2010-2012 ~22.000 customers ordered Resources from MIRRI mBRCs

• Basic Research, Academia /Research Institutes • Human, Plant, Veterinary Health, Reference Laboratories • Food sector • Agricultural sector • Bio-industry • Pharma-industry • Schools, Customs, Cosmetics…

Specific Market Situation

No. resources non-profit profit 55.698 33.281

1. Fundamental uncertainty about the full value inherent in microbial resources and how to access it

2. Major shortcomings in the way data on microbial resources is presented

3. The quality and reproducibility of microbial science need significant improvement

4. Microbial diversity services need to be trusted and sustained

5. The need to be able to capture value and benefit from microbial resources

Main challenges for MIRRI

Example: missing reference strains

Of 20.200 strains included in the 2008 issues of eight European microbiology journals, only 0.95% were deposited in public collections.

Of 12.000 strains included in two 2009 issues of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 0.03% were deposited in public collections.

MIRRI reaction: Stackebrandt E, Smith D, Casaregola S, Varese GC, Verkleij G, Lima N, Bridge P. (2014). Deposit of microbial strains in public service collections as part of the publication process to underpin good practice in science. SpringerPlus 2014, 3:208

Articles associated with mBRC deposits receive greater than 220 per-cent more

citations than Most-Related Article controls

Furman JL, Stern S (2011) Climbing atop the Shoulders of Giants: The Impact of Institutions on Cumulative Research. American Economic Review 101: 1933–1963

MIRRI offers Integrated Solution

What is the special thing about being an infrastructure?

• Together, MIRRI can afford the full range of often expensive technologies needed to explore biodiversity: an integrated spectrum of equipment, data, service, knowledge etc.

• Together, MIRRI provides access to the entire spectrum of microorganisms accessible via a single entry point usage of resources in a legal compliant manner

• Together, MIRRI sets European standards of collection, curation and analysis

• Together, MIRRI sets ambitious, collaborative research goals over extended periods

• Together, MIRRI can share best practices, standards, data, personnel, knowledge etc.

What makes MIRRI different?

The key resource centres have been identified and are

well established across Europe.

This preparatory phase project will have a catalytic and

stimulating effect in many different ways.

Governments should develop national road maps

for BRCs ensuring the pan-European strategy can

be implemented (Portugal, Spain, France, Netherland,

Belgium, Greece, Latvia and Poland have already signed MoU)

•Great opportunity to develop an italian network in Italy able to handle different kind of organisms;

•To support the academic research;

•To support the bio-based economy and the research in different regions (links with other research groups or SMEs).

1. List all collections of microorganisms present in Italy and

check the quality of the material and of relative dataset:

about 50 BRCs and CCs have been identified;

1. Involvement of funding bodies and policy makers to insert

MIRRI in Italian Road Map;

1. Link with industrial community;

2. Training persons on technical and legal aspects of BRCs;

3. Ensuring funding management of the collections which want

to became a BCR;

4. National website for easy access to material and information;

5. Etc…

Italian situation (mBRCs/CC)

mBRCs replay to survey about managment of the holdings and compliance with the minimal criteria proposed by MIRRI. Many other research collections have been identified belonging to Universities, CNR, CRA, IZS, Hospitals.

19 Universities, 4 CNR Departments, 3 CREA Institutes, 3 Technological Parks, 1 Research Institute (ENEA). • More than 50 letters of support from

Assobiotec, Private companies and SMEs, • Health Fondations, Techological parks, Scientific

Societies

Survey of 158 questions about biological material, QMS, Biosafety, biosecurity, Code of Conduct, services, etc.

d

List of 2 partners (MUT USMI) and 3 collaborating parties of the MIRRI consortium (DBVPG- ITEM- CNR, UNIMORE)

MIRRI-IT JRU

The Joint Research Unit MIRRI-IT has been founded in 2017 for the implementation of the Italian node of the European Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI-ERIC). Current partners of the MIRRI-IT JRU:the Universities of Turin, Perugia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, the University Hospital San Martino Genoa and the Italian National Research Council. A progressive enlargement of the JRU is foreseen with the entry of new partners including other Italians microbial collections or qualified research centers (deadline first call 14 dec 2018).

Main goal of the MIRRI-IT JRU: to develop a tight network of Italian collections of microbial resources. Mission of the MIRRI-IT JRU: to overcome fragmentation in availability of resources and services; to enhance the quality management system of the collections; to focus on needs and challenges of the stakeholders interested in the biotechnological transfer of these resources.

FUNGAL CULTURE COLLECTIONS

MUT and TUCC at UNITO University of UNIGE University of UNIPV University of UNIBO UMCC at UNIMORE DBVPG at UNIPG UNIVT UNISS UNIPA Plus, CREA, CNR, ENEA, IZS, Hospitals

Main goal of the MIRRI-IT JRU: to develop a tight network of Italian collections of microbial resources. Mission of the MIRRI-IT JRU: to overcome fragmentation in availability of resources and services; to enhance the quality management system of the collections; to focus on needs and challenges of the stakeholders interested in the biotechnological transfer of these resources.

20

Support funds rising at national and local level (MIUR, MIPAAF – Anagrafe

biodiversità at Regional level)

Coordinate and support the operation of the Microbial Culture Collections in

Italy according to the established international quality standards;

Harmonize the procedures of the Collections in order to comply with national

and international rules (i.e. Nagoya Protocol, Intellectual Property Rights,

privacy, biosafety, etc.);

Propose actions to relevant State authorities in order to strenth the functioning

and sustainability of the Collections;

Promote interdisciplinary cooperation and represent Italy in relevant national

(SBI; SIMTREA; etc) and international Networks and Organizations;

Provide a unique entry point to quality microbiological services and microbial

Biological Resource Centres (mBRC) holdings.

Ensure access to data contained in partner databases, implementing their

interoperability.

MIRRI-IT JRU main activities

ITALIAN MIRRI NETWORK added value

1. Guarantee security of microbial biodiversity according to Best practices for

future use and protection of public funding investment;

2. Guarantee legal certainty on genetic resources use becoming an important

tool to comply with national and international legislations (CBD, NP, etc);

3. Guarantee data interoperability to facilitate global data mining;

4. Guarantee broader access to material for the exploitation of microbial

diversity and related data to boost knowledge transfer and innovation driving

a successful bioeconomy;

5. Guarantee access to technology, services and expertise to meet stakeholder

needs;

6. Guarantee the development of clusters of expertise and innovative services to

solve societal challenges interacting with other ESFRI RIs at National level;

7. Guarantee increase level of education and training creating interdisciplinary

programs for students, researcher, staff of BRC and SMEs and citizens.

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Contatti JRU MIRRI-IT: Coordinatrice: Prof.ssa Giovanna Cristina Varese (e-mail: cristina.varese@unito.it) JRU Liaison Officer: Dott.ssa Iolanda Perugini (email: jolanda.perugini@unito.it) JRU Manager: Dott. Giuseppe Caputo (email: giuseppe.caputo@unito.it) Presidente dell’Assemblea Generale: Prof. Pietro Buzzini (email: pietro.buzzini@unipg.it) Presidente del Comitato Scientifico: Ing. Paolo Romano (email: paolo.romano@hsanmartino.it)

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