Microbial resources have been recognised as essential raw materials for the advancement of health and for biotechnology, agriculture, food technology and research in the life sciences. To date, less than 1% of the estimated number of species are described and available to be harnessed by man and less than 0,1% of prokaryote strains published in the scientific literature were deposited in public service collections or mBRCs or simply retained for future study and use. About 0.5 million strains are supplied each year by collections registered with the World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM). It is estimated that 70% of strains used in published research are not coming from collections, thus tens of thousands resource strains are sourced for research often without proper authentication and provenance.

MIRRI will provide a wealth of additional information and linking to datasets such as literature, environmental data, sequences and chemistry that will facilitate scientists to select organisms suitable for their research and enable innovative solutions to be developed. MIRRI will support researchers from academia and bio-industry offering a facilitated access to genetic resources via the envisioned MIRRI portal – a one-stop-shop for material, data and expertise; broader coverage of genetic resources – coordinated approach towards isolation and deposit of microorganisms; improved tailored service offer from mBRCs also coordinating smaller collections, interoperability of data – facilitated mining of trusted data, increase knowledge transfer to users and implementation of best practices for transition to a mBRC.

By offering long-term deposition of raw material of high scientific and economic value for basic research and innovation in biotechnology, MIRRI will contribute to the H2020 societal challenge to improve health, food security, agriculture, forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research and to address aspects of clean and efficient energy.