The Biological Resources of Model Organisms

Robert Jarret was born and raised in Franklin, Massachusetts and graduated from the local high school. After a tour with the US Navy, he attended Bridgewater State College majoring in Biology. Graduate studies were completed at Purdue University (M.S. and Ph.D.) and Colorado State University (MBA). He worked for a period of time at the Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza (CATIE) in Costa Rica and subsequently at the University of Florida (Homestead), eventually moving to his present position. His research activities combine field and laboratory activities and are often multi-disciplinary and typically focused on the conservation and characterization of genetic resources/diversity. In addition to conducting research, he curates collections of various crop and crop-related taxa. He currently resides in Griffin, Georgia.

Bioresources are used by thousands of researchers and represent invaluable assets for large-scale experiments in a wide range of disciplines. These living materials include diverse species such as thale cress, maize, fruit flies, clawed frogs, zebrafish, green algae, tilapia, and sheep spanning across scientific disciplines. This book discusses the history, significance, and biodiversity of various genetic resources; managing existing bioresources through acquisition, maintenance, and distribution policies; characterization and evaluation of these resources; and future goals and improvements in handling them.

1. Introduction to the Laboratory Axolotl and the Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center. 2. The Genetic Resources of Arabidopsis thaliana: The Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center. 3. The Bacillus Genetic Stock Center/Bacillus subtilis. 4. Genetic Resources of Rotifers in the Genus Brachionus. 5. The Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC) and the Caenorhabditis elegans Natural Diversity Resource. 6. The Chlamydomonas Resource Center. 7. The Zebrafish International Resource Center. 8. The Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center: Management, Maintenance, Distribution, and Research. 9. The Fungal Genetics Stock Center Supporting Foundational and Emerging Model Systems. 10. The Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center. 11. The Tetrahymena Stock Center: A Versatile Research and Educational Resource. 12. The National Xenopus Resource. 13. Xiphophorus Fishes and the Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center. 14. ATCC: The Biological Resource Center for the Future.