INNOVATIVE DEVICES FOR COMMUNITY-BASED DEVELOPMENT OF GERMPLASM REPOSITORIES

Repositories of cryopreserved germplasm are important tools for genetic management in conservation, restoration, aquaculture, and biomedical research. However, lack of accessible devices makes it difficult for many facilities to apply cryopreservation technology with reliable reproducibility. Commercial equipment can cost tens of thousands of dollars, deterring inexperienced laboratories from seeking the utility of cryopreservation. Low-cost homemade devices are usually not standardizable, impeding process and transfer of innovative technologies into accessible tools for the user community to achieve aggregate throughput. To address this, we are employing interdisciplinary approaches that integrate cryobiology and bioengineering techniques to develop innovative cryopreservation devices that are low-cost, standardizable, and portable to assist adoption by aquatic user communities. These devices are fabricated by soft lithography (Fig. 1A-C) and three-dimensional (3-D) printing (Fig. 1D-F) with open-source files that can be shared and reused by users. The prototypes of these devices will be evaluated for closed-beta testing with the Zebrafish International Resource Center (ZIRC) and the USDA National Animal Germplasm Program (NAGP), and can be evaluated by open-beta testing with external groups. The overall goal is to provide a platform for community-based standards to ensure reproducibility and efficiency for germplasm repository development. As such, thousands of users could be provided with devices for reproducible cryopresevation to back up lines for submissions to central repository facilities, or commercialization of genetic resources.