CSBR: Living Stocks, Operation of a Culture Collection of Algae

德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校（UTEX）的藻类培养收藏馆是为数不多的几个精心策划的、公开的、生物多样性的活藻类收藏馆之一。UTEX是一个藻类生物多样性的存储和分配中心。UTEX收集了公众可获得的最具遗传多样性的生物组合，UTEX维护的许多藻类都是独特的和不可替代的。每年，UTEX以低廉的价格向美国和世界各地的科学家、教育工作者和学生分发数千种活藻培养物。人们对微型藻类作为交通燃料、人类食品、动物饲料、药品和许多其他用途的巨大兴趣使UTEX藻类和服务成为数百个研究项目的重要资源。UTEX提供管理藻类培养的实践讲习班，一个信息丰富的互动网站，物种鉴定服务，化学成分分析，以及与从事藻类研究的学生的广泛通信。UTEX的工作人员在公立学校进行演讲，带领学生参观UTEX的设施，协助教师和学生进行高中科学项目，并在每年的当地开放日活动中向数百名儿童介绍藻类的科学重要性。UTEX目前保存着代表所有主要分类群的3000多种独特的活藻菌株，包括450多种类型物种。UTEX的使命是促进、支持并使藻类能够用于研究、教育和实际应用。为了实现其使命，UTEX以适度的成本向用户社区提供活藻类；作为新发现和最近描述的具有潜在价值的藻类物种的永久公共储存库，代表了广泛的遗传，形态和生化多样性；作为执业科学家、其他专业人士和感兴趣的公众的藻类信息来源；促进和支持当地的科学教学和学生的动手科学活动；并提供实用的培训服务、支持服务和用品，以促进其他地点的藻类培养。UTEX提供活藻类发酵剂、散装培养物、生长培养基、光生物反应器、光度计、基因组DNA和数字图像。服务包括通过形态和dna序列方法鉴定藻类，藻类的生理和生化特性，以及专有菌株的低温储存。UTEX在超低温保存技术、生化特性、基因组测序和加入菌株的分类鉴定方面保持积极的研究。通过提供培养物和与UTEX工作人员协商，积极支持当地机构内基于藻类的研究。每年都有数百篇发表的研究文章提到了UTEX菌株的使用，其中许多文章也承认了NSF的支持。此外，许多UTEX菌株被用于开发用于生产生物燃料和许多其他产品的基于微藻的技术的研究。一个综合性网站（www.utex.org）为订购商品和服务提供了一种安全的方式，提供了与其他地方有关的藻类资源的链接，并包括各种与藻类有关的信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas at Austin (UTEX) is one of only a handful of curated, public, biodiversity collections of living algae. UTEX is a repository and distribution center for algal biodiversity. The UTEX Collection is of the most genetically diverse assemblages of organisms available to the public and many of the algae UTEX maintains are unique and irreplaceable. Every year UTEX distributes thousands of living algal cultures, at modest cost, to scientists, educators, and students throughout the U.S. and the world. The great interest in microscopic algae as sources of transportation fuel, human food, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, and many other uses makes UTEX algae and services essential resources for hundreds of research projects. UTEX provides hands-on workshops on managing algal cultures, an informative interactive web site, species identification services, chemical composition analysis, and extensive correspondence with students engaged in algal research. UTEX personnel give presentations at public schools, conduct tours of UTEX facilities, assist teachers and students in conducting high school science projects, and provide presentations on the scientific importance of algae to hundreds of children every year at local open house events.UTEX currently maintains more than 3,000 unique living algal strains representing all major taxa, including over 450 type species. The UTEX mission is to promote, support, and enable the use of algae for research, education, and practical applications. In order to fulfill its mission, UTEX provides living algae to a user community at modest cost; serves as a permanent public repository of newly discovered and recently described algal species of potential value representing a broad range of genetic, morphological and biochemical diversity; acts as a source of information regarding algae to practicing scientists, other professionals, and the interested public; promotes and supports local science teaching and hands-on scientific activities by school children; and provides practical training services, support services, and supplies that facilitate culturing of algae at other sites. UTEX provides living algae starter cultures, bulk cultures, growth media, photobioreactors, photometers, genomic DNA and digital images. Services include identification of algae by morphological and DNA-sequence methods, physiological and biochemical characterization of algae, and cryogenetic storage of proprietary strains. UTEX maintains active research on cryopreservation technology, biochemical characterization, genomic sequencing, and taxonomic identification of accessioned strains. Algae-based research within the local institution is actively supported through the provision of cultures and by consultation with UTEX staff. Every year hundreds of published research articles reference the use of UTEX strains, many of which also recognize NSF support. In addition, many UTEX strains are used in research leading to the development of microalgae-based technologies for the production of biofuels and many other products. A comprehensive web site (www.utex.org) facilitates a secure means for ordering goods and services, provides links to resources elsewhere pertaining to algae, and includes diverse algae-related information.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.