| Library
Array Distribution Policy |
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All libraries are maintained in
frozen "microtiter dish" format. Copies of whole
library arrays may, infrequently, be available, and request
will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Availability will
require the scientific need for complete-library access (for
instance to annotate, modify or analyze all BAC clones as
part of a genome project). Library copies are never distributed
for convenience or economic reasons. Commercial users need
to establish a licensing agreement. The clones or derived
DNA samples shall not be transferred to other
laboratories or used within commercial applications without
a licensing agreement. All users of whole libraries will need
to establish a signed Materials Transfer
Agreement (MTA). Please contact Pieter de Jong ([email protected])
to inquire about this licensing options.
When the scientific
results obtained from use of any library are published or
otherwise disseminated, the scientific creators and the origin
of the BAC library should be acknowledged.
Please note that
arrayed libraries are NEVER distributed immediately because
of the logistics of the library duplication and shipping.
The following considerations are important with respect to
the availability of library copies and the timing of the distribution:
1) Arrayed clone libraries
take up significant freezer space. Hence, we prefer
to maintain minimal inventories of clone collections
and rarely have uncommitted copies of the requested
library available for distribution. To appreciate the
cost aspect: a typical mammalian genomic BAC library
with 10-fold genome redundancy (150 kb or more insert
size) has 550-700 microtiter dishes. A single library
copy takes up 20% of a large 21 CuFt freezer. Our current
costs for maintaining single freezers now amounts to
$500/month (as of January 2009), although we are exploring
less expensive options.
2) Arrayed library clones suffer from
repeated freezing and thawing. In order to replicate
an arrayed library, the master copy needs to be thawed
and refrozen. To maintain viability in the master copy,
it is essential to pool requests for library copies.
Pooling of request affects the labor costs to prepare
copies.
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| Logistics and
technical aspects |
1) Libraries are in microtiter
dishes (mostly with 384-wells) and the wells contain
frozen clone cultures in LB media supplemented with
7.5% glycerol and an appropriate antibiotic (chloramphenicol
in BACs and fosmids; kanamycin in PACs; ampicillin in
cDNA clones).
2) The dishes
are covered with a regular lid only and the wells are
not sealed.
Hence, the shipment will need to occur in containers
with dry ice to prevent cross-contamination. All dishes
are packed together in blocks of 7 dishes (for 384 well
dishes) in Styrofoam boxes with dry ice.
3) Dry ice
will evaporate during the shipment. Hence we will use
sufficient dry ice to permit shipments to last at least
three days within the USA/Canada or 4-5 days for international
shipments.
4) The CO2-vapors from the dry-ice
will dissolve in the frozen culture media inside the
wells. This can have unexpected consequences. If the
plates are subjected to rapid temperature increase,
the carbon dioxide will form small gas bubbles inside
the frozen culture, resulting in an increased liquid
level - possibly rising above the rim of the well. Please
make sure that the dishes are immediately transferred
to -80 freezers for several days before thawing the
dishes - to permit the excess CO2 to evaporate slowly.
No dry ice should ever be stored in the same freezer. |
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