A roadmap to create FAIR collections of microbial strains

Microbiology is in the midst of a cultivation renaissance and this is particularly true in microbiome research, where access to isolates enables mechanistic studies. However, to reach that goal, isolates and their (meta)data must be findable, accessible, interoperable and reproducible (FAIR). Many studies have reported the isolation of thousands of microbial strains, but few are publicly accessible. This is partly due to the hurdles faced in creating FAIR resources, such as the additional workload involved in organizing submission to culture collections and curating metadata for each strain. In addition, inconsistent strain identifiers reduce the findability of strains by preventing their use by the community being tracked. These limitations hinder the sustainable growth of scientific knowledge and innovations in microbiome research. Here we propose a roadmap to help scientists create FAIR collections of microbial strains. We provide guidance on the process of establishing a state-of-the-art collection of microorganisms, from project planning to strain deposition and how to name new taxa. By creating FAIR collections of microbial strains, we can safeguard Earth's microbial heritage for future generations.