title: The challenges faced by living stock collections in the USA.
abstract: Many discoveries in the life sciences have been made using material from living stock collections. These collections provide a uniform and stable supply of living organisms and related materials that enhance the reproducibility of research and minimize the need for repetitive calibration. While collections differ in many ways, they all require expertise in maintaining living organisms and good logistical systems for keeping track of stocks and fulfilling requests for specimens. Here, we review some of the contributions made by living stock collections to research across all branches of the tree of life, and outline the challenges they face.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Fungal Genetics Stock Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, United States.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McCluskey
authors.affiliation: Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors.forename: Kyria
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boundy-Mills
authors.affiliation: Duke Lemur Center, Duke University, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dye
authors.affiliation: Duke Lemur Center, Duke University, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ehmke
authors.affiliation: Duke Lemur Center, Duke University, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Gregg F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Gunnell
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences and Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center, University of South Carolina, Columbia, United States.
authors.forename: Hippokratis
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiaris
authors.affiliation: Drosophila Species Stock Center, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States.
authors.forename: Maxi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Polihronakis Richmond
authors.affiliation: Duke Lemur Center, Duke University, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Anne D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Yoder
authors.affiliation: Bacillus Genetics Stock Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Zeigler
authors.affiliation: Duke Lemur Center, Duke University, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zehr
authors.affiliation: Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, United States.
authors.forename: Erich
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4720-7290
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grotewold
mesh_terms: D018070:Biological Specimen Banks; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000592:standards; D011309:Preservation, Biological / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States
keywords: infectious disease; living stock collections; microbiology; model systems; plant biology; stock centers