ACAM: Australian Collection of Antarctic Microorganisms, 400 Strains

The Australian Collection of Antarctic Microorganisms (ACAM) is a collection of nearly 400 strains of Antarctic bacteria, established in 1986 at the University of Tasmania. Many strains were isolated from lakes and marine waters in the Vestfold Hills region near Davis Station, where organisms cope with extreme environmental conditions. The collection is available through the Australian Antarctic Data Centre and was last updated in 1995.

Use Cases

• Taxonomic classification of Antarctic microorganisms based on collection metadata.
• Research into microbial adaptations to extreme salinity, temperature, and light conditions.
• Screening for biotechnologically useful strains that produce polyunsaturated fatty acids or degrade hydrocarbons.
• Studying biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics in Antarctic and subantarctic environments.

Strengths

• Contains nearly 400 unique microbial strains, providing a substantial sample size for analysis.
• Focuses on a specific and extreme environment (Antarctic and subantarctic regions), offering niche data.
• Includes microorganisms with documented biotechnological potential, such as hydrocarbon degraders.

Limitations

• Last updated 1995-12-31 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

University of Tasmania, Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC).

Collection Method

Isolation and collection from Antarctic continent, subantarctic islands, and the Southern Ocean.

Time Range

Collection established in 1986; data reflects samples up to the last update in 1995.

Freshness

1995-12-31 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Antarctic continent, subantarctic islands, Southern Ocean, specifically the Vestfold Hills region near Davis Station.