Die Etablierung eines DNA-Bank-Netzwerkes in Deutschland

DNA-Banken sind technisch optimierte Serviceeinrichtungen zur dauerhaften Lagerung gut dokumentierter DNA. Sie ermöglichen einen allgemeinen Zugang zur DNA und ihrer gesamten Dokumentation zur Verifikation von Forschungsergebnissen oder um weiterführende Untersuchungen am gleichen Ausgangsmaterial durchführen zu können. Vier deutsche Sammlungsinstitutionen mit sich ergänzender Fachexpertise haben sich mit Hilfe der DFG zusammengeschlossen, um ein DNA-Bank- Netzwerk als Serviceeinrichtung für die naturwissenschaftliche Forschung zu etablieren. Bisher gibt es keine allgemein akzeptierten Standards für den Betrieb von biologischen DNA-Banken. Aus diesem Grunde wird hier der momentane Stand des Wissens bezüglich der i) Empfehlung für die Aufsammlung von Pflanzenmaterial, ii) DNA-Extraktion und Aufreinigung, iii) Ermittlung der DNA-Qualität,- Reinheit und -Konzentration, iv) der Langzeitlagerung sowie v) der Dokumentation und Datenbankstrukturen zusammengefasst. Im Rahmen der praktischen Umsetzung wird die Homepage des DNA-Bank-Netzwerkes (www.dnabanknetwork. org) sowie die Möglichkeiten der Bestellung und Einlagerung von DNA-Proben vorgestellt und es wird auf die Ziele des Projektes eingegangen.DNA banks are technically optimized service facilities for the long term storage of well documented DNA. They allow for universal accessibility to DNA with its full documentation for verification of scientific analysis or to undertake complementary or corroborative studies on the source material. Four German natural history institutions with complementary scientific expertise are supported by the DFG to establish a DNA Bank Network as service facility for the life sciences. Up to now, no common standards for the management of DNA banks have been developed. Therefore, the state of the art is presented here concerning i) collection of plant material, ii) DNA extraction and purification iii) DNA quality, purity and concentration, iv) long term storage and v) documentation and database structures. As part of the public perfomance the homepage of the DNA Bank Network (www.dnabank-network.org) as well as the possibilities to order or donate DNA are presented and future goals are envisaged

DNA Bank Network – connecting biological collections and sequence databases by longterm DNA storage with online accession

In times of increasing numbers of methods and tools for the molecular identification of organisms, it is inevitable that researchers have to deal with an additional flood of samples: the extracted DNA of organisms which are in the researcher’s focus. Today, voucher specimens – the specimens from which DNA was extracted – have to be placed in adequate biological collections and organisms’ sequence data can officially be deposited in online databases such as Genbank, often a prerequisite for publication of results in peer-reviewed journals. DNA extracts do not underlie such rules, but adequate housing of DNA extracts, especially of rare or difficult to obtain species, will be a major task in the near future. The DNA Bank Network bridges the gap between natural history collections and molecular sequence databases by providing online references to analysed specimens and inferred molecular data. DNA samples are linked to their respective vouchers and inferred molecular data are stored in public sequence databases, facilitating taxonomic verification of molecularly analysed organisms. We provide the opportunity for long-term storage of DNA in the DNA Bank Network, giving other reseachers the opportunity to access DNA for further projects dealing with the same organisms. In this way, multiple sampling can be avoided and there is a direct link between the three main sources of information, i.e. the sampled organism, the DNA, and the sequence data. Here we present the functioning and layout of the DNA Bank Network, which currently connects DNA banks of four research museums in Germany: the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (ZSM), the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem (BGBM), the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures Braunschweig (DSMZ), and the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig (ZMFK). Presently, the DNA Bank Network allows to access DNA samples of more than 35.000 DNA samples and 11.000 taxa

Establishing the UK DNA Bank for motor neuron disease (MND)

In 2003 the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association, together with The Wellcome Trust, funded the creation of a national DNA Bank specific for MND. It was anticipated that the DNA Bank would constitute an important resource to researchers worldwide and significantly increase activity in MND genetic research. The DNA Bank houses over 3000 high quality DNA samples, all of which were donated by people living with MND, family members and non-related controls, accompanied by clinical phenotype data about the patients. Today the primary focus of the UK MND DNA Bank still remains to identify causative and disease modifying factors for this devastating disease

Complete genome sequence of Bacteroides helcogenes type strain (P 36-108).

Bacteroides helcogenes Benno et al. 1983 is of interest because of its isolated phylogenetic location and, although it has been found in pig feces and is known to be pathogenic for pigs, occurrence of this bacterium is rare and it does not cause significant damage in intensive animal husbandry. The genome of B. helcogenes P 36-108(T) is already the fifth completed and published type strain genome from the genus Bacteroides in the family Bacteroidaceae. The 3,998,906 bp long genome with its 3,353 protein-coding and 83 RNA genes consists of one circular chromosome and is a part of the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea project

Broad clinical phenotypes associated with TAR-DNA binding protein (TARDBP) mutations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The finding of TDP-43 as a major component of ubiquitinated protein inclusions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has led to the identification of 30 mutations in the transactive response-DNA binding protein (TARDBP) gene, encoding TDP-43. All but one are in exon 6, which encodes the glycine-rich domain. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of TARDBP mutations in a large cohort of motor neurone disease patients from Northern England (42 non-superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) familial ALS (FALS), nine ALS-frontotemporal dementia, 474 sporadic ALS (SALS), 45 progressive muscular atrophy cases). We identified four mutations, two of which were novel, in two familial (FALS) and two sporadic (SALS) cases, giving a frequency of TARDBP mutations in non-SOD1 FALS of 5% and SALS of 0.4%. Analysis of clinical data identified that patients had typical ALS, with limb or bulbar onset, and showed considerable variation in age of onset and rapidity of disease course. However, all cases had an absence of clinically overt cognitive dysfunction