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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
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Division of Fishes

Genetic Loans

The Division of Fishes maintains a large collection of tissues and DNA extracts in the NMNH Biorepository. A small collection of recently collected whole specimens fixed in 95% ethanol is also available.

Genetic samples may also be requested from formalin fixed specimens, ethanol fixed material dating prior to 1920, or dried osteological material. For these latter sources we require that requestors provide evidence, preferably in publication, of prior success with DNA extraction from antique or formalin fixed materials.

 

Submit genetic loan requests via email to the Division of Fishes, Collection Manager. We encourage you to visit our online database to review our holdings before you submit your request. this database allows you to search exclusively for tissue holdings. 

Please include the following in your request email:     

  • Your full name. If you are student include the full name of the permanent staff member of the institution.
  • Shipping address of the institution to which the loan will be sent, along with a contact phone number and e-mail address.
  • A brief description of your research problem and the protocol you intend to use for genetic analysis.
  • In an attached spreadsheet, provide either a general listing of desired species, number of samples you need, and preferred material (tissue or extract).  You may also request specific USNM lots, please be sure to include the relevant Biorepository number for each requested sample. This information is provided in our online database, which allows for direct download of records of interest into a spreadsheet.  

Loans requests are reviewed by our curators and collection manager, no material will be sent on loan without their authorization.  We reserve the right to deny requests.  

Borrowers must abide by our terms of genetic use as well as any terms stipulated in original Material Transfer Agreements associated with the genetic samples. The latter terms will be included on resulting loan invoice forms. 

  • Tissues and extracts may be used for non-commercial research use only. No tissue or product may be used for commercial purposes or for financial gain.
  • No tissues or DNA products may be exchanged, loaned or re-gifted to a third party or cataloged into any collection without the express permission of NMNH. 
  • Return remnant tissue and resulting DNA extract to NMNH.
  • All published sequences generated from tissues and DNA extract must be registered with Genbank and you must report those Genbank numbers to the Division of Fishes Collection Manager.
  • For GenBank submissions please use the internationally recognized triplet of Institutional Code: Collection Code: Catalog number.  Ex. USNM: Fish: 45678
  • Any publications resulting from tissue sequences obtained from NMNH should include an acknowledgement to the National Museum of Natural History, Division of Fishes.

 

We do not permit tissue removal from primary type specimen vouchers. Tissue removal from secondary type specimens may be considered under certain conditons.

We do require that unused material, including DNA extract be returned to our institution.  As tissues are loaned for a one time research use, if you wish to use remaining material for another purpose, please contact the Collection Manager to request an additional usage.