iDigBio Links DNA Banks and Genetic Resources Repositories with New Web Feature, Requests Community Input

Natural history collections have always played a crucial role in organismal biology, serving both as repositories for biological specimens that document biodiversity in space and time and sources of materials for scientific study.

Recently, natural history collections have become important sources of tissues for molecular studies of biodiversity. Advances in molecular research techniques and sequencing technologies are increasing the demand for specimens suitable for molecular research—from genetic or genomic studies to transcriptomics, proteomics, etc. However, not all specimens housed in collections were preserved for molecular research, and sampling specimens for this purpose can potentially damage specimens in ways that potentially decrease their value to other important research areas.

In response to the increased demand for genetic resources, many natural history collections have already established or are beginning to curate collections of nucleic acid extracts (DNA or RNA) and preserved tissues for molecular studies. These collections constitute DNA Banks and/or Genetic Resources Repositories, but may not be labeled as such. For example, frozen tissue collections and DNA from vouchered specimens are sometimes maintained as a part of individual collections (e.g., mammal or bird collections), while others are curated within centralized repositories that include samples from all types of organisms.

 

Individual researchers, perhaps collectively, maintain and curate the largest proportion of available genetic resources as part of previous and ongoing research projects. These genetic resources may be of value to other researchers (including other areas of research), but their existence remains unknown to the larger community. Moreover, these private collections risk damage or loss due to a variety of factors, and may be best transferred to long-term storage facilities.

 

Currently, there are few (if any) comprehensive online resources available to aid researchers in: 1) identifying repositories for long-term preservation of research materials no longer in use, as well as for materials and extracts used as part of published studies; and 2) locating sources of useful genetic resources for current or future scientific studies. iDigBio is helping to address this problem with the development of a new online resource of DNA Banks and Genetic Resources Repositories in the United States, which already includes information and links to 45 collections.

 

We need your help!

Do you have a collection of frozen tissues or DNA extracts available for use by the research community? To report new information about available genetic resources at your institution, or to revise or update your existing entry, please contact Grant Godden.
 

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