All-Russian Collection of Microorganisms (VKM)

- The study of the biological (genetic) diversity of microorganisms living in various ecosystems and associated with higher organisms;

- Introduction to culture and comprehensive study of new microorganisms of all major super-kingdoms and various physiological groups, identification and description of new taxa, improvement of the classification system and identification methods, including at the level of species (subspecies);

- Search and study of new biopolymers, enzymes and secondary metabolites of microbial origin;

- Study of the possibilities of using anaerobic bacteria and archaea to produce biohydrogen and biogas, antifreeze proteins and cold-resistant enzymes;

- Sequencing and annotation of complete genomes of bacteria and fungi to expand the information base for the development of the concept of species in microorganisms and the construction of a modern "single tree of life", understanding strategies for adapting microorganisms to extreme conditions, mechanisms of symbiotic interactions and phytopathogenicity, the search for new enzymes and their complexes of fundamental and applied importance;

- Development of accelerated methods for identification of microorganisms at the species (subspecies) level based on MALDI mass spectrometry and analysis of "housing-keeping" genes.