KPD | Collection of Plasmids and Microorganisms

KPD is a new microbial bioresource centre dedicated to the long-term preservation of plasmids and microorganisms. with a mission to provide open access to high-quality microbial resources and associated data and promote scientific integrity by making published research material available to others.

It aims at fostering advanced collection management of biological material and consolidating microbial resources previously dispersed among several labs at the faculty. 

Established initially to preserve Escherichia coli laboratory strains deposited by the members of the scientific community working on molecular biology and microbial genetics at the University of Gdansk, the collection expanded to meet the biotech industry’s needs and include environmental and clinical bacterial strains. 

KPD houses plasmids, cloning vectors, expression systems, recombinant DNA constructs, bacterial strains with a potential application as tools in molecular biology, biotechnology and bioengineering, and natural bacterial strains isolated from diverse environments. The collection is steadily growing through extensive collaboration with individual researchers and research teams in academia and the public health sector.

KPD’s operation is sustained by financial support from the University of Gdansk and the Polish Ministry of Education and Science. 

KPD is registered at the World Date Centre of Microorganisms (WDCM) under the number 1084.
In 2016, KPD became a member of the European Culture Collections’ Organisation (ECCO). 

The collection operates in compliance with international guidelines, including World Federation for Culture Collection (WFCC) guidelines for culture collections,  the Common Access to Biotechnology Resources Information (CABRI) Guidelines and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) “Best Practice Guidelines for Biological Resource Centers”.