Create your own conference schedule! Click here for full instructions

Abstract Detail



Botanical DNA Banking and the Systematics Community: Working Together to Meet Future Research Challenges

SOLTIS, PAMELA S. [1], Godden, Grant T. [2].

DNA Banks, Specimen Records, and GenBank Numbers:  Toward an Integrated Network of Genetic Resources.

Collections of genetic resources (DNA and tissue samples) provide valuable sources of materials for molecular studies of biodiversity and facilitate long-term archival of samples from published studies. The needs of the research community are changing rapidly, contributing to an increased demand for high-quality genetic resources. Ideal resources are those samples that are linked to museum voucher specimens, complete with full specimen record information, with further links to GenBank accession records if the sample has previously provided sequence data. Curators and researchers in the United States recognize the need for networked data on genetic resources to link samples housed in U.S. collections with research consumers. However, there are no comprehensive lists of DNA banks, genetic resources repositories, or tissue collections available, and significant gaps remain in our knowledge about the types of genetic resources that are available as well as their physical localities. We present a newly available web feature developed and maintained by Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) to compile the first comprehensive list of genetic resources collections in the U.S. Our new tool provides information on a diverse set of collections and enables rapid searching of multiple collections. This resource, however, is only one step on the way toward an integrated network of genetic resources and their important metadata. We envision a single portal for access to the nation’s genetic resources repositories, with linked specimen and GenBank records for all samples. As similar motivations are shaping similar endeavors internationally, perhaps the ultimate vision is for a unified international resource.


Log in to add this item to your schedule

Related Links:
iDigBio Index to DNA Banks and Genetic Resource Repositories


1 - University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, PO Box 117800, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
2 - University of Florida, Department of Biology and Florida Museum Of Natural History, Dickinson Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611-7800, USA

Keywords:
DNA bank
Genetic Resource Repository
iDigBio
natural history collections
tissue collections
network.

Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: SY07
Location: Whitewater/Grove
Date: Tuesday, July 29th, 2014
Time: 4:15 PM
Number: SY07007
Abstract ID:832
Candidate for Awards:None


Copyright © 2000-2013, Botanical Society of America. All rights reserved