A Standardized Nomenclature Design for Systematic Referencing and Identification of Animal Cellular Material

Date

2024-05-23

Authors

Schrade, Lisa
Mah, Nancy
Bandrowski, Anita
Chen, Ying
Dewender, Johannes
Diecke, Sebastian
Hiepen, Christian
Lancaster, Madeline A.
Marques-Bonet, Tomas
Martinez, Sira

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

MDPI

Abstract

The documentation, preservation and rescue of biological diversity increasingly uses living biological samples. Persistent associations between species, biosamples, such as tissues and cell lines, and the accompanying data are indispensable for using, exchanging and benefiting from these valuable materials. Explicit authentication of such biosamples by assigning unique and robust identifiers is therefore required to allow for unambiguous referencing, avoid identification conflicts and maintain reproducibility in research. A predefined nomenclature based on uniform rules would facilitate this process. However, such a nomenclature is currently lacking for animal biological material. We here present a first, standardized, human-readable nomenclature design, which is sufficient to generate unique and stable identifying names for animal cellular material with a focus on wildlife species. A species-specific human- and machine-readable syntax is included in the proposed standard naming scheme, allowing for the traceability of donated material and cultured cells, as well as data FAIRification. Only when it is consistently applied in the public domain, as publications and inter-institutional samples and data are exchanged, distributed and stored centrally, can the risks of misidentification and loss of traceability be mitigated. This innovative globally applicable identification system provides a standard for a sustainable structure for the long-term storage of animal bio-samples in cryobanks and hence facilitates current as well as future species conservation and biomedical research.

Description

Keywords

viable cell material, wildlife, biosample nomenclature, cryobanking, standardization, unambiguous identifier, FAIR data, biodiversity, species conservation

Citation

Animals 14 (11): 1541 (2024)

Department

Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
San Antonio Cellular Therapeutics Institute