Guidelines for collecting vouchers and tissues intended for genomic work (Smithsonian Institution): Botany Best Practices

By

Funk, V. A. (Vicki Ann), 1947-
Gostel, Morgan
Devine, Amanda
Kelloff, Carol
Wurdack, Kenneth
Tuccinardi, Chris
Radosavljevic, Aleks
Peters, Melinda
Coddington, Jonathan A.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017-01-30

Original Publication

Biodiversity data journal

Volume

5

Pages

1--24

Subjects

arboreta , biological collections , biorepository , Botanical gardens , Cryopreservation , genomic tissue , Herbarium specimens , Plant collecting , vouchers

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft Publishers [2013]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.5.e11625
eLocator: e11625

 

Abstract

The introduction of Next Generation Sequencing into the disciplines of plant systematics, ecology, and metagenomics, among others, has resulted in a phenomenal increase in the collecting and storing of tissue samples and their respective vouchers. This manual suggests standard practices that will insure the quality and preservation of the tissue and vouchers and their respective data. Although written for use by the Smithsonian Institution botanists it suggests a framework for collecting tissues and vouchers that other research programs can adapt to their own needs. It includes information on collecting voucher specimens, collecting plant tissue intended for genomic analysis, how to manage these collections, and how to incorporate the data into a database management system. It also includes many useful references for collecting and processing collections. We hope it will be useful for a variety of botanists but especially those who know how to collect plants and want to collect tissue samples that will be useful for genomic research, and those who are skilled in lab work and want to know how to properly voucher and record their tissue collections.