Since its inception in 2002, the Dictyostelium Stock Center (DSC) has served the biomedical research and education communities by providing a user-friendly and reliable repository and distribution center for strains from Dictyostelium and related species. The Dicty community and the broader biomedical and educational communities depend on the DSC to facilitate their research. Another important benefit of the DSC is that it provides a ready mechanism for investigators to meet the NIH resource sharing guidelines for materials they have developed. This proposal seeks to continue support for this vital community resource. Although funded as an R01, the DSC is a community resource that facilitates other investigators abilities to make innovative discoveries, while itself innovating by improving storage and recovery methods and the informatics infrastructure for displaying, searching and ordering from the collection. The activities of the DSC improve the overall efficiency of research funds provided to a wide range of investigators by providing a centralized source for strains and materials for Dictyostelium and related species. We propose the following three goals for the next funding period.
Aim 1. Maintain and distribute the DSC collection. The goal of the DSC is to provide a reliable, efficient centralized strain and plasmid repository and distribution center for Dictyostelium species and related amoeba.
Aim 2. Expand the collection, including the GWDI insertional mutant strains. We encourage all Dictyostelid investigators to share their strains, plasmids and other reagents by depositing them in the DSC. Over 21,000 Genome Wide Insertional Mutants (GWDI) were received this year increasing the size of our collection over 10-fold, requiring us to adapt our processes to handle both the increased collection and the attendant increase in order volume.
Aim 3. Improve usability and continue providing integrated database infrastructure. We have created a new DSC front page to access all information, and a new ordering form that streamlines the process, especially for users taking advantage of our new account-based login system. The completion of these aims will assure reliable and on-going preservation and access to these valuable experimental resources, increase the use of research generated materials, improve annotation associated with strains, plasmids and other materials, and lead to the development of innovative interfaces through which user/investigators can share information maximizing the impact of their research.
The eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum is a relatively simple experimental system that is widely used for research in biomedical, genetic, and environmental domains. The Dictyostelium Stock Center (DSC) provides a centralized resource that preserves and distributes these valuable experimental materials to the broad biomedical research and educational communities. The DSC offers a convenient ?one-stop shopping? experience that provides researchers an efficient means of complying with NIH policies on sharing of research materials derived using NIH funding.
