Abstract BIR9403760 The Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center collects, maintains, and distributes genetic stocks of the fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The sophisticated genetic tools developed in Drosophila over the past 80 years make this insect a powerful model organisms for biological research. The collection currently consists of over 5,300 different genetic stocks including visible, lethal and sterile mutations (about 30% of the collection), chromosome aberrations (about 36% of the total), and marked transposon insertions (about 34% of holdings). An electronic database is maintained and distributed, allowing users full access to up-to- date information about stocks available from the collection, and center scientists are available to provide advice on the use of these materials. The center is heavily used, with close to 16,000 stocks expected to be shipped during 1993. Over 99% of stocks are used by academia-based researchers, about 76% of these within the US and the remaining 24% spread among 33 countries. This resource preserves valuable research materials for the future, promotes effective use of these tools today, assures that documented strains are readily available to all qualified users, and relieves individual researchers and their grants of the burden of providing large numbers of stocks to colleagues. This award is jointly supported with the National Center for Research Resouces, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
