The Story behind the Science: ATCC at 100 years.

ATCC expanded from a donor-dependent collection of fewer than 200 microorganisms into an independent global biological resource center over its first 100 years.

• Why it matters: Reference standards are essential for replicating experimental results, but early institutional survival and independence were difficult to secure.
• What they did: The publication traces ATCC’s founding and early development, highlighting ASM’s role in formal establishment in 1925 and sustained support for continuity.
• The result: The historical account links ASM’s involvement to ATCC’s ability to persist and grow, framing ATCC’s global activities around reliable biological tools.

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