Frozen tissue & DNA collections
The Museum commenced building a frozen tissue and DNA collection in 2005, complementing the Molecular Identities Laboratory facility. This includes an ultra cold freezer (-80 degrees C) with storage capacity for up to 70,000 tissue samples. Current priorities include:
- building the tissue sample collections of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians in conjunction with new acquisitions and sub-sampling of existing collection, with approximately 2,500 sampled so far;
- marine sponges and octocorals in partnership with the Barcoding of Life initiatives;
- 16% of this collection has been databased.
