AIMS Marine Bioresources Library Database

The AIMS Bioresources Library contained almost 20,000 entities, including extracts from over 7,600 samples of marine micro-organisms, frozen material and over 9,000 cryopreserved marine-derived micro-organisms. Biodiscovery is the sourcing of native biological material including plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms to identify bioactive compounds genes, enzymes and other proteins that may be used for commercial purposes such as pharmaceuticals and insecticides. AIMS has been involved in biodiscovery for 15 years and has explored Australia's mega-marine biodiversity for attributes with commercial application. The cornerstone of AIMS' biodiscovery effort is its substantial marine Bioresources Library. This collection has been sourced from over 1,500 sites across Australia.An Oracle database for the AIMS Bioresources Library was developed to contain information of taxonomy, housekeeping (location and nature of samples including taxonomic vouchers, extracts, fractions, pure compounds, frozen cultures), and biodiscovery research history (e.g. screening and structure elucidation results, dispatches to various external parties, etc).The database includes images most organisms and records the results of an array of bioassay tests which have varied over time with different programs and collaborators, and include anti-cancer, AIDS, anti-biotic and enzyme inhibition assays.The taxonomic data is available for release as long as the master sample numbers are not used as unique sample identifiers, e.g. OBIS. Requests for selected data release will be considered on a case by case basis as some information is commercial in confidence and may be subject to contract conditions.The database aimed to:-collate taxonomic and biogeographic details-link taxonomy and biogeography with bioactivity, and facilitate data mining-track the use of samples in their various forms-ensure compliance with contracts and access/benefit sharing agreements and permits-generate reports to regulatory authorities and jurisdictions of origin, on the use of materialA subset of the data has been provided to the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS, http://iobis.org/explore/#/dataset/123l).