Making the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center Business Model Possible

拟南芥生物资源中心（ABRC）成立于1991年，由NSF通过五年的赠款支持。ABRC收集，保存，繁殖和分发拟南芥和相关物种的各种种子和DNA库存。分布式资源的信息和订购服务由拟南芥信息资源（TAIR; http：//arabidopsis.org/）维护。ABRC服务于一个充满活力的植物研究人员社区，其共同目标是了解开花植物的基本过程，并将这种理解应用于进一步的作物改良。该中心的活动是必不可少的实现社区目标的具有多个突变等位基因的每一个拟南芥~27,000个基因。TAIR约有10，000名注册用户利用该中心，每年从大约1，000，000个库存中订购近100，000个库存，平均分配在种子和DNA之间。ABRC的影响体现在每年拟南芥社区在高影响力期刊上发表的数百篇文章中。股票捐赠和需求继续增长，并可能在可预见的未来保持高位。在这方面，ABRC要求提供资金，以升级和提高DNA和种子处理业务的能力和效率。具体而言，要求提供资金，以建造一个带有专门的种子储存架系统的低温干燥室，用于短期和长期的种子储存;一个专门的-20 ℃冷冻机，用于长期的种子储存;一个机器人系统，用于增加DNA储备业务的产出;以及一个土壤处理机，用于提高种植的可重复性和效率。这些设备部件是实现商业模式的核心，在这种商业模式中，ABRC在运营中变得更加独立于NSF的支持。更广泛的影响意识到ABRC在拟南芥和植物社区的战略地位，该中心开始了一项试点计划，利用ABRC的专有技术和库存，以提高K-12植物的认知度和知名度。为实现这一目标，澳大利亚植物研究中心的人员制定了一个三个单元的研究项目，题为“绿化课堂：拟南芥作为教授植物遗传学的工具”、“植物与环境的关系”和“高中生植物发育”。这项计划目前正在哥伦布市学区的高中实施，并将扩大到俄亥俄州的其他一些学校。这一努力得到了哥伦布市学校课程质量控制理事会（http：//www.example.com）的支持，该理事会将“绿化课堂”倡议纳入了哥伦布市学校的正式课程。www.columbus.k12.oh.us此外，澳大利亚植物研究中心参加了第二届植物功能基因组学讲习班的组织工作（http：//www.biosci.ohiostate.edu/workshop/）。该研讨会为约20名参与者（高中教师、本科生、博士生和研究生）提供了动手实践经验，并由该领域的领导人讲课。学生，博士后和初级教员）来自世界各地。这些教育活动是对ABRC的持续和高度重视的社区服务使命的重要补充，从而提高了我们年轻一代对拟南芥和植物的赞赏。由分子和细胞生物科学，综合有机体系统和生物基础设施部门共同资助。

Intellectual MeritThe Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) was established in 1991 and supported since by NSF through five-year grants. The ABRC collects, preserves, reproduces and distributes diverse seed and DNA stocks of Arabidopsis thaliana and related species. Information and ordering services for the distributed resources are maintained by The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR; http://arabidopsis.org/). The ABRC serves a dynamic community of plant researchers with a common goal to understand the basic processes of flowering plants, as well as to apply this understanding to further crop improvement. The activity of the Center is essential towards full-filling the community goal of having multiple mutant alleles for every one of the Arabidopsis ~27,000 genes. Approximately 10,000 registered users in TAIR utilize the Center by ordering close to 100,000 stocks annually from a collection of approximately 1,000,000 stocks, equally distributed between seeds and DNA. The impact of the ABRC is represented by a significant contribution to hundreds of articles by the Arabidopsis community in high-impact journals each year. Stock donation and demand continues to grow and is likely to remain high for the foreseeable future. Here, the ABRC requests funds to upgrade and increase the capacity and efficiency of the DNA and seed-handling operations. Specifically, funds are requested for a cold dry room with a specialized rack system for short and long-term seed storage, for a specialized -20 C freezer for very long-term seed storage, a robotic system for increased output in DNA stock operations, and a soil handler to increase planting reproducibility and efficiency. These equipment pieces are central to the realization of a Business Model in which ABRC becomes significantly more independent from NSF support in its operations.Broader ImpactsRealizing the strategic position of the ABRC in the Arabidopsis and plant community, the Center started a pilot program to harness the know-how and stocks at the ABRC to enhance the awareness and visibility of plants in K-12. Towards this objective, ABRC personnel developed a three-module research project entitled "Greening the Classroom: Arabidopsis thaliana as a tool to teach plant genetics", the relationship of plants with the environment, and plant development for high-school students". This plan is currently being implemented in high-schools in the Columbus City School district, and will be expanded to a number of other schools in Ohio. This effort is supported by the Curriculum Quality Control Council of Columbus City Schools (http://www.columbus.k12.oh.us), which included the "Greening the Classroom" initiative in the official curriculum of CCS. In addition, the ABRC participated in the organization of the second Plant Functional Genomics Workshop (http://www.biosci.ohiostate.edu/workshop/). This workshop offered a hands-on practical experience combined with lectures by leaders in the field to ~20 participants (high-school teachers, undergrads, Ph.D. students, postdocs and junior faculty members) from all over the world. These educational initiatives are significantly complementing the sustained and highly-valued community service mission of the ABRC, thus increasing the appreciation for Arabidopsis and plants in general in our younger generations.Co-funded by the Divisions of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Integrative Organismal Systems, and Biological Infrastructure.