Author
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Rossman, Amy |
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Farr, David |
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Submitted to: Phytopathology
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 5/3/2006 Publication Date: 6/15/2006 Citation: Rossman, A.Y., Farr, D.F. 2006. The value of culture collections and herbaria in the DNA age [abstract]. Phytopathology 96:S133. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Living cultures and reference specimens maintained in today’s culture collections and herbaria represent what we know of life through time and space. If one could release and synthesize the knowledge locked in the millions of living cultures and specimens collected over the past century, the history of life would be revealed. Only a small percentage of fungi are represented in living culture collections; many more are needed to identify the newly discovered and unnamed lineages revealed in environmental sampling. Herbarium specimens are increasingly useful as a source of DNA for studies that understand the origin and distribution of plant pathogens. Past scientists have conscientiously documented their research with specimens that are extremely useful to modern science in ways they could not have imagined. We can never go back in time to determine what population of soybean rust first attacked wild plants in China. But we can document today’s science for future investigators who may use these cultures and specimens in ways we could never imagine. Just as scientists who never heard of an electron microscope or a DNA sequencer placed cultures and specimens in collections for future generations, today’s scientists have the responsibility to document their research. Every sequence in GenBank and every new disease report should be backed by a culture and voucher specimen. Documented data are required for sound, repeatable science and to provide a legacy for future scientists. |
