534 / 2019-03-07 22:08:09

Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre (NASC): a summary

stocks,Arabidopsis,distribution

From models to crops > From models to crops

The Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre (NASC), based at the University of Nottingham, collects, preserves, reproduces and distributes diverse seed and other stocks of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and related species for research and education. Established in April 1991 with British public funding, NASC’s seed collection approaches one million stocks including insertion lines covering 28,937 genes and over 1,400 distinct natural accessions. NASC’s activities are coordinated with those of the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center, (ABRC) based at Ohio State University, USA. Both stock centres offer several advantages over alternative providers: they provide security and stability as seed stocks are preserved under the best possible conditions; they have no interest in or claims to intellectual property, and they maintain and curate large numbers of stocks according to common standards. The usage of NASC resources has increased continuously since its inception. The number of seed and DNA stocks sent annually is now close to 160,000, a rate that substantially exceeds anything imagined in the beginning. NASC currently sends 60,000 stocks per year to over 250 chinese universities and institutes making China one the top 3 users of Arabiodpsis stocks in the world. We believe this is a great opportunity to show our customers in China how the stock centre operates and to provide a forum to discuss any comments or suggestions they might have.