Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center Snapshot
Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center Snapshot
The Ohio State University Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) was established with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1991. Faculty and staff collect, preserve, amplify, and distribute the seeds, DNA, protein, and other resources of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to researchers worldwide.
At a Glance
Arabidopsis thaliana, a small, flowering member of the mustard family, is widely-used in genetic studies in diverse areas of plant science.
Its rapid life cycle—about six weeks from germination to mature seed—makes it a perfect model system for research and has led to its nickname, “the fruit fly of the plant kingdom”
The ABRC sends more than 100,000 seed, DNA, protein, and cell culture samples each year to researchers in 60 countries.
Nearly one million stocks cover 92% of approximately 27,000 genes in the Arabidopsis genome.
After 20 years of extensive research use, Arabidopsis thaliana has become the reference plant for comparison
Greening the Classroom
Erich Grotewold and Jelena Brkljacic are making plants an integral part of the K-12 curriculum through the Green K-12+ initiative, a pilot program composed of a series of user-friendly exercises that help explain basic scientific concepts to students, approved by the Columbus City Schools Curriculum Committee in March 2011. ABRC is an official partner with the Columbus City Schools.
Inside the ABRC
The ABRC is located in Ohio State’s Center for Applied Plant Sciences (CAPS) where it maintains laboratories, offices and greenhouse rooms.
Its seed area contains a laboratory, two humidity-controlled rooms for seed handling, four large growth chambers for growing plants, three dry cold-rooms in two locations for seed storage, and two -20 C freezers for long-term backup and storage.
DNA laboratory equipment includes a Biomek 3000 liquid handling robot, two incubators, and two laminar flow hoods. DNA stocks are stored in ten ultra-low freezers in three locations, and in a walk-in cold room.
Partnership Support
A grant from the American Society of Plant Biologists funds TRAINED: Translating Research on Arabidopsis into a Network of Educational Resources—a central hub for linking, searching, and ordering Arabidopsis educational resources, and integrating K-12 and undergraduate education initiatives.
Education Kits
Our education kits are distributed all over the world.
7.2012
