ORIGINAL ARTICLES

BIOPRESERVATION AND BIOBANKING Volume 7, Number 3, 2009/2010 © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/bio.2009.0007

The Korea National Research Resource Center Dongsin Lee and Yeonhee Lee

Research resources with associated information are the most essential materials in the study and application of the life sciences, since these are employed in everything from basic research to advanced industrial high technology. Numerous nations recognize the importance of these scientific assets and are simultaneously enhancing their internal security measures and strengthening international cooperation to protect and share them. Consequently, most resource centers are sustained by governments under various national strategic plans. The Korea National Research Resource Center (KNRRC) is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST) and consists of 33 research resource centers (RRCs), 5 core centers, and a head office. Its collection includes microorganisms, plants, animals, human specimens, and non-biologic materials. The KNRRC headquarters provides a total management system for the RRCs including database management, guidelines and educational programs, and certification of resources, workers, and the research centers themselves. These supervisory powers are granted to the KNRRC headquarters under national legislation entitled “Management and Application for Biological Resources.” The KNRRC has signed memorandums of understanding for cooperation with 9 national and 5 international agencies. The former include the National Agro-biodiversity Center, the Rural Development Administration, and the Functional Proteomics Center, and the latter include the International Vaccine Institute and the RIKEN BRC of Japan. Currently, the KNRRC is serving as head office of the Asian Chapter of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.

Introduction

I

n providing the materials and associated data required for scientific investigation, research resource centers (RRCs) constitute a key component of the research infrastructure. Such materials are utilized in primary industries like agriculture, livestock husbandry, fishing, and fermentation as well as in advanced, high value added manufacturing like drug discovery, medical technology development, and genetic engineering. In addition to these RRCs, there are also environmental specimen banks (ESB) that provide infrastructure for the environmental sciences.1 Specimens such as human and fishery samples, soils, and seawater from ESBs have been used for retrospective analysis and evaluation for global environmental monitoring. The concept of research resource collections has now been expanded from biological to earth and space sciences. Many countries have already recognized the importance of research resources and have put into place national security mechanisms to protect them and facilitate their use. At the same time, they have joined in international sharing and protection arrangements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),2 the Global

Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF),3 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Global Biological Resource Center Network (OECD/GBRCN) linked to the World Federation of Culture Collection (WFCC),4 and the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (WTO/TRIPs). Over the last 30 years, the Japanese government has financed training programs in Southeast Asia to educate employees to operate resource centers in their own countries. Since 1999, China has maintained two 5-year projects for the development of such hubs spending over 10 million US dollars per year in this effort that has now entered the terminal stage of the second project. In Korea, a few small-scale resource centers were started in the mid-1980s; these were followed by larger hubs in the mid-1990s, whose appearance coincided with the launching of big national projects such as the Plant Diversity Research Program, Functional Analysis of Human Genome, and Microbial Genomics and Applications. Recently, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST) declared its intention to manage a national scheme for biological resources, in order to advance into seventh place in

Korea National Research Resource Center, Seoul, Korea.

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global competitiveness within 10 years. The “Master Plan for Security, Management and Applications of National Biological Resources” was set up in 2008. A year later, legislation entitled the “Management and Application for Biological Research Resources” was enacted for resource preservation and development. An introduction to the Korea National Research Resource Center (KNRRC) and its activities, so vital to the scientific and industrial futures of Korea, is the focus of this article.

The majority of the RRCs in the KNRRC handle biological resources. These include microorganisms (virus, bacteria, fungi, mushrooms, and microalgae), human specimens (normal and cancer tissues), plants (potatoes, Chinese cabbages, citrus, and herbs), and animals (parasites, annelids, and arthropods for medical purpose, cows, mutant zebra fish, aging tissue). In addition, some RRCs also gather diverse molecular analytes, such as peptides, modified nucleic acids, and single crystals. The list of RRCs and their Web sites are shown in Table 1.

Organization of KNRRC “The National Research Resource Center” project was launched in 1995 with the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology (the present MEST) and the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (now the National Research Foundation in Korea [NRF]). Under its auspices, the first 5 RRCs appeared—the Korea Marine Microalgae Culture Center, the Korean Cell Line Bank, the Peptide Library Support Facility, the Culture Collection for Microbiology Education, and the Korea Culture Center of Microorganism. As shown in Figure 1, by 2009 the number of RRCs had increased to 39, of which 33 are resource centers, grouped by specialty into 5 core centers, and 1 is a headquarter center (the KNRRC). The core centers contain the various collections of microorganisms, plants, animals, human specimens, and fusion-matters. Fusion-matters contain collections that do not belong to biological resources. Within them, several RRCs function interactively, exchanging ideas and practical expertise.

Activities of the components of the KNRRC Activities of RRCs. The main functions of RRCs are to collect and supply research resources with reliable information. They have successfully carried out these tasks under an institutional quality assurance program, providing experimental services, as well as technical consultation and internal networking. In 2008, the total size of the inventory in the RRCs reached 10,061,739 accessions. The accession numbers are given to resources when their characteristics have been detailed. As shown in Table 2, these collected resources are categorized into 5 major divisions and 48 subgroups. In 2008, 244,252 accessions were distributed, mostly to universities (66.1%), research institutes (19.7%), and industries (9.7%). Most resources are distributed free of charge except for the shipping charge. There were a few cases that resources were provided outside Korea in 2008. Presently, trading resources between countries are restricted at the government level. Resources can be exchanged one by one through Material

MEST

KNRRC

Microorganism Core Center

Human Origin Core Center

Plant Core Center

Animal Core Center

Fusion Matter Core Center

Pathogenic Virus

Lung

Brasicca

Annelids

Single Crystal

Waterbome Virus

Liver Cancer

Citrus

Anthropods

Environmental M.

Prostate

Modified Nucleic acid

Ginseng

Aging Tissue

Myxobacteria

Leukemia

Helicobacter

Cosmetic Materials

Cell Bank

Resistant M.

Natural Materials

Plant Virus

Zebra fish Bovine genome

Potato Fungi Mushrooms Microalgae Lichen

FIG. 1.

Organization of KNRRC.

Plant DNA

Parasite Animal Bioresources

Peptide Library

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KOREA NATIONAL RESEARCH RESOURCE CENTER Table 1.

Korea National Research Resource Center

Name of RRC Microorganisms Korea Bank for Pathogenic Viruses Center for Fungal Genetic Resources Culture Collection of Mushrooms Culture Collection of Antimicrobial Resistant Microbes Helicobacter pylori Korean Type Culture Collection

Korea National Environmental Microorganisms Bank Korea Marine Microalgae Culture Center Korean Lichen and Allied Bioresources Center Myxobacteria Bank Plant Virus GenBank

Waterborne Virus Bank Animals Aging Tissue Bank Animal Bio Resources Bank Arthropods of Medical Importance Resource Bank Bovine Genome Resources Bank Korean Cell Line Bank Parasite Resource Bank The Biodiversity Bank of Terrestrial Annelids Zebra fish Organogenesis Mutants Bank Plants Center for the Korea Potato Genetic Resources Citrus Genetic Resources Bank Ginseng Bank Brassica Resource Bank Korea Cosmeceutical Material Bank Plant DNA Bank in Korea New Natural Material Bank Human origin Korea Lung Tissue Bank Liver Cancer Specimen Bank Korea Prostate Bank Korean Leukemia Bank Fusion-Matters Bank of Modified Nucleic Acid Systems Crystal Bank Peptide Library Support Facility

Resources

Homepage

Pathogenic virus Mutant library, plant pathogenic fungi Mushroom Antibiotics-resistant bacteria

www.kbpv.co.kr genebank.snu.ac.kr www.wildmush.or.kr www.ccarm.or.kr

H. pylori strains, pathogenic bacteria, recombinant plasmid clones, cell line and hybridoma cell lines, H. pylori genome libraries Water pollutant degrading bacteria, photosynthetic bacteria, odor degrading bacteria Microalgae

www.helicobacter.or.kr

www.kmmcc.re.kr

Lichen

www.lichen.re.kr

Wild myxobacteria, Myxococcus xanthus, culture extracts of myxobacteria Plant virus, viral antibody, viral cDNA clone, viral cDNA library, full-length clone, mutant virus clone, viral primer Norovirus, Rotavirus, Enteric virus, cell line

www.myxobank.or.kr

www.kbem.or.kr

www.virusbank.org

www.wava.or.kr

Aging tissue Natural medicinal herb resource Arthropod, crude extract, native allergen, recombinant allergen, specimen, cDNA clone Hanwoo BAC clones, DNA, blood, tissue Cell line Eggs, larvae, worms, gDNA, clone, cDNA library, primers Korean domestic earthworm, EST clone, gDNA, cDNA library Wild-type zebra fish, transgenic zebra fish, mutants, marker

aging.pharm.pusan.ac.kr www.abrb.or.kr www.bugsworms.org

Mutant potato

www.potatobank.com

Citrus, cDNA library Ginseng seeds, BAC library, transformants, ginseng extract BAC library, cDNA library, seed, marker Herbal extract Plant gDNA, specimens Standardized material extract

citrus.cheju.ac.kr www.ginsengbank.org www.brassica-resource.org www.herbalbank.or.kr pdbk.korea.ac.kr www.nprnd.or.k

Frozen tissue, paraffin block, DNA, blood Specimen, frozen tissue, blood, slide Specimen, frozen tissue, bacteria, gDNA Cell, DNA, RNA, plasma

www.korealtb.org www.liverca.com www.prostatebank.or.kr www.klcgb.or.kr

Modified nucleoside, phosphoramidite, oligonucleotide Various crystal substrates Peptide, peptide libraries

monasbank.com

www.bovinebank.kr/bod cellbank.snu.ac.kr www.parasite-bank.or.kr www.annelids.org zomb.knu.ac.kr

crystalbank.com www.plsf.or.kr

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LEE AND LEE Table 2.

Categories and Resources at KNRRC in 2008

Categories Animals Animal extract Ovum Fresh frozen tissue Immersion specimen Dry specimen Slide-mounted specimen Live animal Paraffin block Plasma Serum Tissue homogenate Antibody Cell line Nucleic acids Proteins Amino acid sequences Nucleotide sequences Human Fresh frozen tissue Paraffin block Peripheral blood mononuclear cell Plasma Serum Urine Whole blood Bone marrow mononuclear cell Cell line Nucleic acids Microorganisms Bacteria Fungi Lichen Microalgae Extract Mushrooms Virus Antibody Cell lines Nucleic acids Nucleotide sequence Plant Trophosome Plant Extract Plant metabolite Seed Plant specimen Cell lines Nucleic acids Amino acid sequences Nucleotide sequences Others Total Transfer Agreement (MTA). The process for setting regulations regarding trading resources is still taking shape. Where the trading regulations are permissible, the resources would be distributed out of Korea at actual expense.

Number in collection 416,787 625 4,310 46,806 9,113 1,882 3,612 20,764 723 149 45 20 114 97 291,018 10,019 6,967 20,523 65,274 26,584 453 7,790 505 10,299 1,677 197 3,139 581 14,049 101,912 31,640 24,091 9,719 1,622 273 3,577 5,054 293 210 25,056 377 9,469,466 2,217 2,279 743 226 9,793 9,103 8 9,394,888 15,209 35,000 8,300 10,061,739 Activities of core centers. The core centers support the RRCs by maintaining communications and exchange networks among them and by providing standard operating procedures for resource management. Core centers help new RRCs

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KOREA NATIONAL RESEARCH RESOURCE CENTER Total Management of Resource Center • Construction of total DB • Standardization of resources • Accrediation of resource centers and workforces • International Cooperation • Incubation of new resources center • Development of education program • Policy making • Preservation of orphaned resources

KNRRC Headquarters Five Core Center Microorganism/Animal/Plant/ Human-origin/Fusion-matters

• Quality Control for resources • Mediation between resource centers • Maintenance for orphaned resources

Thirty Three Resource Centers - Bacteria/Virus/Fungi/Algae/Mushrooms - Cellline/Zebrafish/Parasites/Annalids/Cow/Arthropods - Brassica/Citrus/Ginseng/Potato/Cosmetic Materials - Liver cancer/Lung Tissue/Prostate/Leukemia - Single Crystal/Modified Nucleic acids/Peptide Library

FIG. 2.

• Identification of resources • Preservation and maintenance of resources • Distribution • Consultation for technical information

Structure and functions of KNRRC.

gain certification. If a resource center is unable to manage its resources, the core center to which it is connected takes charge of those orphaned materials, storing and distributing them, while preventing their degradation or loss.

Activities of the KNRRC headquarters Total management system for RRCs. The KNRRC operates a total management system for the RRCs. Its Resource Center Record Management System records data on the materials held and distributed by each resource center as well as the services and publicity activities provided by each center. The Resource Center Information System (RCIS) is the total data base (DB) system maintained by the KNRRC. Through this RCIS, database searches, the processes of sample deposition and ordering are all made possible online. As shown in Figure 2, the structure and function of the KNRRC organization may be illustrated by a pyramid model. Guidelines and accreditation. The KNRRC concentrates on setting the standards for the management of the RRCs. The Korean guidelines for resource management are based on the international principles of the OECD (2007),5 the Common Access to Biological Resources and Information (CABRI, 1999–2009),6 and the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER).7 The second edition of ISBER’s Best Practices document, which was published in 2008, has been translated into Korean and posted on the ISBER Web site (www.isber.org). Further, the KNRRC has been developing self-assessment tools for the RRCs in each of the 5 major fields so as to evaluate and maintain qualified resources. The KNRRC has been accredited by KS Q ISO 9001/2007/ISO 9001/2000, which gives assurance of quality management. Several other national collection centers have also utilized the quality management method in this ISO 9000/2000 series certified system, including the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen, Germany; European Collection of Cell Cultures, UK; and Interlab Cell Line Collection, Italy.8 Education and fostering resource centers. The KNRRC develops educational programs and regularly publishes newsletters. The former covers the general operation of the RRCs, the

management of resources for preservation of materials, and quality control procedures. Specifically, instruction includes lectures on the overall management of the RRCs and their records and on the specific handling of each resource category. In addition, practical training is offered along with lectures for most programs (workshops). Bioethics is a component of the program dealing with resources of a human origin. The lecture contents of programs have been published as an educational booklet, which is publicly available free of charge. The KNRRC supports and incubates new RRCs. To this end, it provides the standard guidelines for collection, storage, and distribution of samples to anyone who wants to operate a RRC. In addition, the KNRRC investigates the kinds of RRCs that will be necessary in the near and long-term futures based on the projections of the National Science Road Map and the National Science & Technology Information Service. Relying on headquarter reports, new RRCs are designated by the MEST. Finally, the KNRRC stores collections orphaned by the closing of RCCs or for other reasons, since these compilations may contain resources that will be valuable in the long term. International cooperation. The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) emphasized the fact that biological resources are the vital assets for the future. There has been an explosive growth of such resources, both nationally and internationally. However, the existence of many of these invaluable resources is not widely known. These resources must be maintained, without changing their original characteristics and reproducibility for potential studies in the future. Safeguarding and collecting reliable resources is a matter of national and global concern. International networking is necessary to set common standards for such assets, to generate common documents, and to raise the skills and productivity of workforces. Ten RRCs in the KNRRC have become members of the WFCC and 5 have joined ISBER. The KNRRC has signed several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on academic cooperation with other organizations, including the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Agricultural Culture Collection of China (ACCC), Institute of Ecology

142 and Biological Resources (IEBR) in Vietnam, National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NPIC), and Center for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) in India. In September 2009, it hosted the first Asian Network for Research Resource Center (ANRRC) meeting combined with the first Asian Chapter Meeting of ISBER. About 250 people from 12 Asian countries participated and exchanged their knowledge and views at this meeting. Delegates of each Biological Resource Center (BRC) also presented posters introducing their collections. There was MOU signing ceremony among the Institute of Microbiology, the Chinese Academy of Science-Biological Resource Center (IMCASBRC), the RIKEN BRC of Japan, and the KNRRC of Korea. In addition, the KNRRC opened the ANRRC Web site (www. anrrc.org) for future cooperation among RRCs in Asia.

Conclusion Biological resources have been collected for over a century. The first service collection of microorganisms for industrial use was established by the Czech scientist, Dr. Frantisek Kral in 1896.9 Over the last 20 years, RRCs have emerged as the essential part of the fundamental research infrastructure for scientific advancement. In the early phase of this history, the major concerns of the centers were simply to collect, store, and supply materials. With advanced achievements in biotechnology, scientific assets have gained exponentially in value. Scientific resource collections have now expanded from biology to the earth and space sciences. Developing adequate and widely distributed resources requires urgent international cooperation for further research and effective usage. Collaboration is particularly important to solve the problems that threaten human life, such as new infectious diseases, global warming, and environmental pollution. International organizations like the OECD’s GBIF, GBRCN, Committee for Science and Technology Policy, Global Science Forum, and Science Collection International are cooperating to manage resources at the international level. Meanwhile, economically advanced countries, including Japan, China, UK, France, the USA, and others have supported RRC projects under their national strategic plans and have secured their intellectual property rights. In Korea, the KNRRC continues

LEE AND LEE the development of its RRCs and core centers into state-ofthe-art complexes, while expanding international collaboration. Through its outreach activities, KNRRC wishes to encourage RRCs throughout the world to explore ways of promoting mutual benefit and prosperity through shared scientific and industrial advances.

Acknowledgment This work was supported by the National Research Foundation in Korea (2008-0059835).

References 1. Koizumi A, Harada K, Inoue K, et al. Past, present, and future of environmental specimen banks. Environ Health Prev Med 2009;14:307–318. 2. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). www.cbd.int 3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). www.gbif.org 4. World Federation of Culture Collection (WFCC). www.wfcc.info 5. OECD. OECD Best Practice Guideline for Biological Resource Centers; 2007. 6. Common Access to Biological Resources and Information (CABRI) guidelines. www.cabri.org/guidelines.html 7. International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER). Collection, storage, retrieval and distribution of biological materials for research. Cell Preserv Technol 2008;6:3 – 58. 8. Smith D, Ryan M. The impact of OECD best practice on the validation of cryopreservation techniques for microorganisms. Cryo Letters 2008;29:63 –72. 9. Day J, Stacey G. Biobanking. Mol Biotechnol 2008;40:202–213.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Yeonhee Lee Korea National Research Resource Center 710 Seoul Technopark 138 Kongrung-dong, Nowon-gu Seoul 139–743 Korea E-mail: [email protected] Received 15 December, 2009/Accepted 29 January, 2010

The Korea national research resource center.

Research resources with associated information are the most essential materials in the study and application of the life sciences, since these are emp...
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