[NHCOLL-L:1777] storage for molecular work...

[Vicki Noble]

Dear Colleagues,

We have been offered herbarium material that was collected and examined for 
a revision of the seaweed genus Gracilaria, along with a collection of 
fragments that were used for the accompanying molecular study. Dealing with 
the herbarium specimens is not, of course, a problem but the ancillary 
collection is. I think storing of samples for DNA extraction is an 
important enough adjunct to a standard herbarium specimen that we should 
develop facilities for this.

It is either preserved in polythene bags of indicator silica gel or dry in 
glass vials. I am not sure how I should proceed in order to house this 
collection securely for the future. Can those staff familiar with storage 
procedure of plant material for molecular study enlighten me? What do other 
people working in traditional, standard herbaria do about this kind of 
storage? Also, what kind of documentation protocols would be advisable, and 
how much time will the necessary regular monitoring take?

The donor is willing to prepare the material in a way acceptable to us 
(within reason). She wonders if we should retain one or other of the 
methods already employed; she, herself, is not sure which is best for 
long-term storage.

Please respond direct to me at V.Noble at nhm.ac.uk

many thanks,
vicki

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victoria Noble
Curation - Flowering Plants
Department of Botany
Natural History Museum
London SW7 5BD

phone : +44 (0)20 7942 5734
e-mail : V.Noble at nhm.ac.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please visit the Museum and Botany Department websites:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/science/
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/botany/
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