The National Collection of Yeast Cultures (NCYC) is a

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

culture collection A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture medium under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are foundational and basic diagn ...

, established in 1951, and working under the

Budapest Treaty The Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, or Budapest Treaty, is an international treaty signed in Budapest, Hungary, on April 28, 1977. It entered into force on A ...

for the storage of over 4,000 yeast cultures. Located at the

Institute of Food Research The Quadram Institute is a centre for food and health research, combining Quadram Institute Bioscience (formerly the Institute of Food Research), the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals’ endoscopy centre and aspects of the University ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, since 1980. NCYC is part funded by the UK government but provides a commercial service to identify, store and supply yeast cultures. As well as the traditional baking and brewing yeast ''

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungus microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have been o ...

'', this culture collection also contains hundreds of non-pathogenic yeast species. The yeasts are kept frozen under liquid nitrogen or freeze-dried in glass ampoules. To ensure the collection's safety, it is also duplicated and stored off site. Yeasts have been stored and revived successfully decades later.

References

External links

National Collection of Yeast Cultures

UK National Culture Collections
Beer organizations Biological research institutes in the United Kingdom British food and drink organisations Microbiology organizations Research institutes in Norfolk Yeast banks {{Norfolk-struct-stub