Meeting report: 2nd workshop of the United States culture collection network (May 19–21, 2014, State College, PA, USA)

This report summarizes the activities and outcomes of the second workshop of the US Culture Collection Network, formally an activity of the US National Science Foundation sponsored Research Coordination Network for a Community of ex situ Microbial Germplasm Repositories. The workshop included presentations on topics as diverse as permitting for genetically engineered plant pest organisms to facilitating strain exchange via formal material transfer agreement systems and codes of conduct. Short talks introduced diverse collections held by government, university, and private entities. Participants visited living microbe collections as well as active research and production facilities. Keywords: Living microbe repository, Best practices, Regulatory compliance, Reference material collection