Genetic stock centers are indispensible repositories of commonly used laboratory organisms. These centers facilitate modern genetic, taxonomic and biotechnological research by making available genetically defined strains and species, thus providing a standardized set of living laboratory models for use in both basic and applied research. In many cases, the stock centers also maintain considerable amounts of data about the organisms they distribute, including genetic maps, standardized allele designations, information on availability of related organisms, and comprehensive bibliographies of research publications on the organisms. For example, the most-cited biological publication, describing the genetic map of the bacterium Escherichi coli, was written by the Director of the E. coli genetic stock center, Dr. Barbara Bachmann of Yale University. The growing magnitude and breadth of data maintained at stock centers have begun to mandate that computers be used to keep track of them. Consequently, a workshop on the topic "Computerization of Data Bases for Genetic Stock Centers" will be held on August 25, 1988, as part of the sixteenth International Congress of Genetics. The main aims of the workshop are to discern the databasing needs of stock centers, to provide a forum for the exchange of information on databases that have already been developed at various stock centers, and to facilitate ultimate decisions on hardware and design of software for such sites. Participants have been selected based on their responsibilities for maintenance and distribution of genetically characterized stocks of genetically important organisms and for their computer science backgrounds. A summary of the workshop's findings will be published; it will have great importance for stock center managers and will help NSF plan more rationally its allocation of funds to current and future databasing efforts.
