mc alister ecn2013
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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?