# Safeguarding Genetic Resources of Aquatic Biomedical Models

> **NIH NIH R24** · LOUISIANA STATE UNIV AGRICULTURAL CENTER · 2021 · $652,720

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT:
The genetic resources of aquatic biomedical organisms are the products of millions of years of
evolution, decades of scientific development, and hundreds of millions of dollars of research
funding investment. Aquatic organisms have become powerful models in biomedical research
and laboratories around the world have produced tens of thousands of mutant and transgenic
lines. Maintaining these valuable genotypes as live animals is expensive, risky, and beyond the
capacity of most stock centers. As such, cryopreservation has become a necessity and typically
these genetic resources are now maintained as samples of inconsistent quality frozen with
rudimentary techniques. Quality control has not been practiced in any systematic way,
reproducibility is poor, and protocols are not standardized. It is common to have problems and
failures in fertilization resulting in lost lines that need to be recreated, causing facilities to waste
considerable time and effort. This is largely due to the false notion that neglecting quality control
saves time and money. However, rather than being reduced, these costs are shifted
downstream through wasted storage space and reduced fertilization. This pervasive lack of
reliability and reproducibility has placed the substantial investments in biomedical research at
great risk. These pervasive problems were the subject of a 2017 NIH Cryopreservation
Workshop to develop germplasm repositories to protect aquatic biomedical genetic resources.
This proposal directly responds to the specific needs identified by research communities and the
Directors of the five NIH-funded aquatic animal stock centers at that workshop. The mechanism
identified to deliver the much-needed research and capacity development was through
establishment of a Hub and repository network based on the model of the AGGRC, which is
specifically directed at translating research into applied practice. The Specific Aims of this
proposal are to: 1) Establish comprehensive repository systems at NIH-funded stock centers for
sperm of Xenopus frogs and Ambystoma salamanders. 2) Establish a comprehensive repository
system at the NIH-funded stock center for early life stages (e.g., embryos, larvae) of Aplysia sea
hares and required algae species. 3) Establish a comprehensive, centralized unit (“Hub”) to
integrate activities across NIH-funded stock centers and their communities, and develop
approaches and documentation for cryopreservation. This includes development of protocols
and pathways, outreach programs, community interaction, standardization, freezing services,
and training. The AGGRC was developed to directly address these needs and is uniquely suited
to perform and integrate the necessary research, stock center, and network-level activities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10181096
- **Project number:** 5R24OD028443-02
- **Recipient organization:** LOUISIANA STATE UNIV AGRICULTURAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Teresa Gutierrez-Wing
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $652,720
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-15 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10181096

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10181096, Safeguarding Genetic Resources of Aquatic Biomedical Models (5R24OD028443-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10181096. Licensed CC0.

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