Conservation Genome Resource Bank for Korean Wildlife

Genome resource samples of wild animals, particularly those of endangered mammalian and avian species, are very difficult to collect. In Korea, many of these animals such as tigers, leopards, bears, wolves, foxes, gorals, and river otters, are either already extinct, long before the Korean biologists had the opportunity to study them, or are near extinction. Therefore, proposal for a systematic collection and preservation of genetic samples of these precious animals was adopted by Korea Science & Engineering Foundation (KOSEF). As an outcome, Conservation Genome Resource Bank for Korean Wildlife (CGRB; www.cgrb.org) was established in 2002 at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University as one of the Special Research Materials Bank supported by the Scientific and Research Infrastructure Building Program of KOSEF. CGRB operates in collaboration with Seoul Grand Park Zoo managed by Seoul Metropolitan Government, and has offices and laboratories at both Seoul National University and Seoul Grand Park, where duplicate samples are maintained, thereby assuring a long-term, safe preservation of the samples. Thus, CGRB is the first example of the collaborative scientific infrastructure program between university and zoo in Korea.

野生动物基因组资源样本，尤其是濒危哺乳动物和鸟类物种的样本，收集难度极大。在韩国，诸如老虎、豹子、熊、狼、狐狸、羚羊和河狸等众多动物，在韩国生物学家有机会研究它们之前，就已经灭绝，或者濒临灭绝。因此，韩国科学技术基金会（KOSEF）采纳了系统收集和保存这些珍贵动物遗传样本的提案。作为成果，韩国野生动物保护基因组资源库（CGRB；www.cgrb.org）于2002年在首尔国立大学兽医兽医学院成立，成为由KOSEF科学研究和基础设施建设项目支持的特色研究材料库之一。CGRB与由首尔市政府管理的首尔大公园动物园合作运营，在首尔国立大学和首尔大公园均设有办公室和实验室，以维护重复样本，从而确保样本的长期、安全保存。因此，CGRB是韩国大学与动物园之间合作的第一个科学基础设施项目。