Support of the LSU Collection of Frozen Tissues

生物科学的许多最新进展 从生物化学研究集中在分子水平。 的 这些分子的来源是冷冻组织。 所述冷冻组织 路易斯安那州立大学自然博物馆收藏 科学是同类中最大的。 里面有组织样本 超过30，000只脊椎动物，每只都保存在零下70度 超低温保存确保了蛋白质和遗传 信息本身，即DNA，仍然处于生理活性状态， （可行）状态。 该集合用于研究 比较生物化学、生理学、遗传学、法医学和 进化 美国和加拿大的研究人员 经常使用的集合，这显然构成了一个 国家资源，一个在美国或其他地方没有复制。 冷冻组织收集的维护成本很高， 手术。 超冷需要昂贵的冷冻机 保存。 样品的操作是非常劳动密集的， 因为每个样本必须保持冷冻（样本必须 在干冰上分选）。 LSU目前提供博士学位。水平 策展人，研究生策展人助理（50%时间）和实用程序 冷冻机的费用。 该项目提供所需资金 设备和劳动力来管理和计算收集， 使其成为一种充分发挥作用的国家资源， 接受和分发组织样本进行研究 社区 该项目将确保这些不可替代的 研究资料保存完好，随时可供使用 to the research研究community社区.

Many recent advances in biological sciences have resulted from biochemical studies focused at the molecular level. The source of these molecules is frozen tissue. The Frozen Tissue Collection at the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science is the largest of its kind. It contains tissue samples of over 30,000 vertebrate animals, each preserved at -70 C. Ultracold preservation insures that proteins and the hereditary information itself, DNA, remain in a physiologically active (viable) state. The collection is used for studies of comparative biochemistry, physiology, genetics, forensics and evolution. Researchers throughout the United States and Canada regularly use the collection, which clearly constitutes a national resource, one not replicated in the U.S. or elsewhere. Frozen tissue collections are costly to maintain and operate. Expensive freezers are required for ultracold preservation. Manipulation of samples is very labor intensive, because each specimen must remain frozen (specimens must be sorted on dry ice). LSU currently supplies a Ph.D. level curator, a graduate curatorial assistant (50% time), and utility costs for freezers. This project provides funds for needed equipment and labor to manage and computerize the collection and make it a fully functional national resource, one capable of accepting and dispersing tissue samples to the research community. The project will ensure that these irreplaceable research materials are well maintained and made readily available to the research community.