Dr Erica McAlister Department of Life Sciences Molecular storage facilities and their role in modern methods in taxonomy
Dr Erica McAlisterDepartment of Life Sciences
Molecular storage facilities and their role in modern methods in taxonomy
Traditional methods for Entomological storage• Morphological taxonomy
– Pinned collection– Slide collection– Spirit collection
Plukenet – 1691 – 1692 Phytographia
Slide collection storage
Spirit collection storage
Wikipedia advice..• Zoology specimen• Wet specimens[edit]• "Wet" specimen collections are stored in
70% ethanol (EtOH) with various additives after fixing with 10% formalin. Modern specimens are stored in screw-top glass jars with polypropylene lids if they are small or stored in stainless steel tanks if they are large. Specimens are also stored in 10% formalin.
Different spirit preservations and impact on DNA recovery Mode of Fixation
Absolute ethanol
70-80% IMS
70-80% IMS
70-80% IMS
4% Formaldehyde
Ethyl Acetate
Subsequent preservation
Absolute ethanol
70-80% IMS
Critical point drying or similar
Air drying
70-80% IMS
Air dried
External Morphology
Poor to good
good good Good for some groups
Fair to good
Fair to good
DNA good Fair-good
Fair-good
fair poor Very poor
Adapted from Carter 2003
Problems of the past
• Light • Moisture• Temperature • Contamination
New Collection facilities for pinned material
New Collection facilities for spirit material
The missing collections….
Molecular Collection Facility – opened August 2012- 2 million samples of high quality genetic material
Molecular Collections Facilities • Medium term storage
– Cold storage +4oC– Frozen Storage -20oC– Ultracold storage -80oC
Molecular Collections Facilities • Long term storage
– Cryo-storage in liquid nitrogen
Molecular Collections Facilities • Ambient storage
Molecular Collections Facilities • Ambient storage
– FTA Whatman cards
Additional fieldwork techniques• Dry shipper
Molecular Collections Facilities
Conclusion• Long term storage • Compliance with legislation• Specimen and tissue databased
• Labelling
Questions?