National Fungal
Culture Collection of
The Mycology and Plant Pathology group at ARI has an established expertise and national reputation as a centre of excellence in the study of fungal biology. The group began its research activities in 1946, with the founding of the Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science (MACS). Reputed mycologists of yesteryears contributed in making the group internationally acclaimed. Department of Science and Technology (DST) Government of India has recently assigned the responsibility of establishing a National Facility (NFCCI-WDCM 932) to the Mycology and Plant Pathology group of this Institute. The national facility has become operational and functions as an exclusive germplasm repository for pure cultures of diverse fungi. The laboratory is well equipped with modern facilities and the research staffs are well trained in the maintenance of ‘in vitro’ cultures of various groups of fungi and also having adequate mycological expertise for their correct and authentic identification. We wish to appeal to the Indian scientific community to deposit pure and live cultures of their valuable fungal isolates including new species, in this culture collection for long term conservation and making them available for future basic and applied research. For submitting pure cultures required data-sheet may be down loaded from http://www.aripune.org/fis.pdf. Your cooperation is earnestly solicited.
In addition to this, the national level training/workshops on
Taxonomy, Biology and Biotechnology of Fungi and Lichens would be organized very soon to
develop indigenous expertise for sustainable use and management of fungal
resources in