[Microbiological database UNIQEM: problems and prospects]

The UNIQEM database, designed to accumulate microbiological data of a general nature, is currently used to store and make available information about microorganisms studied and maintained at the Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences. UNIQEM is composed of two related databases. The first one is a catalogue database, used to accumulate and maintain list-form information on a wide range of microorganisms. The second one is a property database, which facilitates collecting, processing, and publishing diverse data having to do with these microorganisms and their properties. The database supports the retrieval of microorganisms by specifying an arbitrary set of their properties and has the potential for eventually evolving into a computer instrument for unattended identification of microorganisms.