title: Genetic materials at the gene engineering division, RIKEN BioResource Center.
abstract: Genetic materials are one of the most important and fundamental research resources for studying biological phenomena. Scientific need for genetic materials has been increasing and will never cease. Ever since it was established as RIKEN DNA Bank in 1987, the Gene Engineering Division of RIKEN BioResource Center (BRC) has been engaged in the collection, maintenance, storage, propagation, quality control, and distribution of genetic resources developed mainly by the Japanese research community. When RIKEN BRC was inaugurated in 2001, RIKEN DNA Bank was incorporated as one of its six Divisions, the Gene Engineering Division. The Gene Engineering Division was selected as a core facility for the genetic resources of mammalian and microbe origin by the National BioResource Project (NBRP) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan in 2002. With support from the scientific community, the Division now holds over 3 million clones of genetic materials for distribution. The genetic resources include cloned DNAs, gene libraries (e.g., cDNA and genomic DNA cloned into phage, cosmid, BAC, phosmid, and YAC), vectors, hosts, recombinant viruses, and ordered library sets derived from animal cells, including human and mouse cells, microorganisms, and viruses. Recently genetic materials produced by a few MEXT national research projects were transferred to the Gene Engineering Division for further dissemination. The Gene Engineering Division performs rigorous quality control of reproducibility, restriction enzyme mapping and nucleotide sequences of clones to ensure the reproducibility of in vivo and in vitro experiments. Users can easily access our genetic materials through the internet and obtain the DNA resources for a minimal fee. Not only the materials, but also information of features and technology related to the materials are provided via the web site of RIKEN BRC. Training courses are also given to transfer the technology for handling viral vectors. RIKEN BRC supports scientists around the world in the use of valuable genetic materials.
authors.affiliation: Gene Engineering Division, RIKEN BioResource Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazunari K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Takehide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.forename: Jianzhi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakade
authors.forename: Shotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishikawa
authors.forename: Hideyo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ugai
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kujime
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masuzaki
authors.forename: Takahito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.forename: Chitose
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kurihara
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okubo
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kusa
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inabe
authors.forename: Kazuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Obata
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory / Q000235:genetics; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D036281:Genetic Research; D005827:Genetics, Microbial; D006078:Government Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007253:Information Centers; D007391:International Cooperation; D007564:Japan; D051379:Mice