RAPID: CSBR: Emergency Rescue of the Saint Louis University's Genetic Resources & Collection to The University of Alabama Ichthyological Collection

圣路易斯大学博物馆的遗传资源收藏（GRC）自1983年成立以来，已经从6600多种淡水和海洋鱼类中收集了大约63000个经过编目和担保的标本或组织。GRC包括重要的时间样本、北美分类群的广泛种内地理样本、亚洲淡水鱼的广泛分类样本（以东南亚为重点）以及许多分布于全球的海洋物种。这些标本中的许多是在生命之树和行星生物清单项目中由美国国家科学基金会资助收集的。2017年5月25日，博物馆和GRC的所在地Macelwane大厅经历了一场火灾，导致整个建筑遭受了广泛的结构，水和煤烟破坏。在此事件发生后，圣路易斯大学决定不再支持或维护博物馆或GRC。因此，如果不进行救援，这些极具价值的藏品将失去给全球科学界。该项目的目标是将GRC转移到阿拉巴马大学鱼类学收藏（UAIC）。将这些标本转移到UAIC将确保这些标本的长期管理，并通过我们的门户网站（specific web.as.ua.edu）或我们的四个分布式信息项目合作伙伴（GBIF, FishNet2， VertNet和iDigBio Hub）提供对标本的访问。学生在分子系统学、种群和保护遗传学、基因组学和转录组学方面的研究机会将得到加强，因为这个宝贵的收藏中包含的标本和组织的分类多样性和全球分布。该项目将圣路易斯大学博物馆的遗传资源收藏（GRC）的所有权转让给阿拉巴马大学鱼类学收藏（UAIC），为从世界各地收集的大量有价值的冷冻和95%乙醇保存的标本和淡水和海洋鱼类的组织样本提供即时的救援和管理干预。在UAIC中添加GRC样本？组织和DNA收集极大地丰富和补充了目前UAIC在物种数量和标本数量上的材料。在东南亚收集的GRC中，许多标本是不可替代的，并且是耗时的研究文件。此外，基因组学、转录组学和蛋白质组学研究是可能的，因为许多组织或全身标本在收集时直接放入液氮中，并在-80℃下持续保持。通过联合这些收集，并通过多个生物多样性信息分发伙伴提供对这些标本或组织的访问。科学界将继续获得记录世界各地水生生物多样性的宝贵遗传资源。此外，这些标本的数字数据将通过门户网站（speciyweb.as.ua.edu）或四个分布式信息资源（GBIF、FishNet2、VertNet和iDigBio）提供。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。

Saint Louis University Museum's Genetic Resources & Collections (GRC) amassed a collection of approximately 63,000 catalogued and vouched specimens or tissues from over 6,600 species of freshwater and marine fishes since its beginning in 1983. The GRC contains important temporal samples, extensive within-species geographic sampling for North American taxa, a broad taxonomic sampling of freshwater fishes from Asia, with an emphasis on SE Asia, and many globally distributed marine species. Many of these specimens were collected with funding from NSF during Tree of Life and Planetary Biotic Inventory projects. On May 25, 2017, Macelwane Hall, home to the Museum and GRC, experienced a fire that caused extensive structural, water, and soot damage throughout the building. Following this incident, Saint Louis University determined that it would no longer support or maintain either the museum or the GRC. Thus, without rescue this extremely valuable collection would otherwise be lost to the global scientific community. The goal of this project is to transfer the GRC to The University of Alabama Ichthyological Collection (UAIC). Transferring this collection into UAIC will ensure long-term curation of this collection, as well as providing access to the specimens through our web portal (specifyweb.as.ua.edu) or from our four distributed information project partners (GBIF, FishNet2, VertNet, and iDigBio Hub). Student research opportunities in molecular systematics, population and conservation genetics, genomics, and transcriptomics will be enhanced due to the taxonomic diversity and global distribution of specimens and tissues contained in this invaluable collection. This project transfers ownership of Saint Louis University Museum's Genetic Resources & Collection (GRC) to The University of Alabama Ichthyological Collection (UAIC), providing immediate rescue and curatorial intervention to a very large and valuable collection of frozen and 95% ethanol-preserved specimens and tissue samples from freshwater and marine fishes collected from around the world. Addition of the GRC specimens into UAIC?s Tissues and DNA Collection greatly enriches and supplements materials currently in UAIC in both number of species and specimens. Many specimens in the GRC collected from Southeast Asia are irreplaceable and represent time-intensive research documentation. In addition, genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic studies are possible with these samples because many of the tissues or whole-body specimens were placed directly into liquid nitrogen upon collection and have been maintained continuously at -80 degrees C. By uniting these collections and providing access to these specimens or tissues through multiple biodiversity information distribution partners, the scientific community will continue to have access to an invaluable genetic resource that documents aquatic biodiversity from around the world. In addition, digital data for these specimens will become available through a portal (specifyweb.as.ua.edu) or from four distributed information resources (GBIF, FishNet2, VertNet, and iDigBio).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.