CSBR: Living Stock: Enhancement to the operation and accessibility of the Algal Resources Collection

有毒藻类具有严重的负面影响，从鱼类死亡到因食用被藻类毒素污染的贝类而导致的人类疾病。这些藻类大量繁殖对渔业、贝类产业和旅游业造成的经济影响可能是毁灭性的。然而，这些有毒藻类产生的生物活性化合物和分子也成为创新基础和应用研究的有趣和令人兴奋的途径。北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校的藻类资源收藏馆(ARC)是美国唯一专门收藏有毒微藻的公共收藏馆。ARC目前由424个藻类菌株组成，是世界各地科学家有毒藻类菌株的主要供应商。培养物已被国家和国际研究界广泛用于涵盖不同学科领域的研究，包括生态学、分类学和系统发育学、比较基因组学、关于藻类毒素对人类和动物健康影响的研究以及毒素图谱的制定。培养也被用来开发监测和补救有毒藻类和毒素的替代解决方案，以及在开发治疗或治愈各种疾病的新药时寻找新的生物活性化合物。此外，ARC的研究人员和工作人员还参与了包括K-12教师和学生、本科生、研究生和博士生在内的不同教育水平的外展活动。该项目旨在优化ARC作为活体动物资源的功能和可访问性。主要目标是：1)加强基础设施和程序，以改善养殖条件和工作流程效率；2)改进收藏组织和管理做法；3)提高收藏品在研究界的知名度。这些改进将使ARC能够将他们独特的文化提供给这个科学社区的更大部分，朝着巩固ARC作为社区研究资源的方向迈出最后一步，并实现其维护和扩展所需的自我可持续性。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Toxic algae have serious negative effects varying from fish kills to human illnesses caused by the consumption of shellfish contaminated with algal toxins. The economic impact from blooms of these algae can be devastating to fishing and shellfish industries and tourism. However, bioactive compounds and molecules produced by these toxic algae have also become an interesting and exciting avenue for innovative basic and applied research. The Algal Resources Collection (ARC) at the University of North Carolina Wilmington is the only public collection exclusively dedicated to toxic microalgae in the United States. Currently comprising 424 algal strains, ARC is a major supplier of toxic algae strains for scientists all over the world. Cultures have been extensively used by national and international research community in studies encompassing diverse subject areas, including ecology, taxonomy and phylogeny, comparative genomics, studies on the effects of algal toxins on human and animal health, and for the development of toxin profiles. Cultures are also used to develop alternative solutions for the monitoring and remediation of toxic algae and toxins, as well as in the search of new bioactive compounds in the development of new drugs to treat or cure a variety of diseases. Additionally, ARC researchers and staff are involved in outreach activities that involve diverse educational levels including K-12 teachers and students, undergraduate, graduate and PhD students.This project seeks to optimize the functionality and accessibility of the ARC as a Living Stocks resource. The main goals are: 1) Enhancement of infrastructure and procedures for the improvement of culturing conditions and workflow efficiency, 2) Improvement of the collection organization and curation practices, and 3) Increase the visibility of the collection to the research community. These improvements will allow ARC to offer their unique cultures to a much larger portion of this scientific community, to take the final step towards the consolidation of the ARC as a community research resource, and to achieve the self-sustainability necessary for its maintenance and expansion.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.