NOTE: Due to security issues, the ARSEF database search function is not currently available and we are transitioning to a site on the ARS-AZURE cloud. Please contact the curator (Kathryn.Bushley@usda.gov) if you need information about specific groups or a custom search of the database that can be sent via e-mail. Printed PDF catalogues of all isolates and other information about the collection are available on the ARSEF website at https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/ithaca-ny/robert-w-holley-center... The Agricultural Research Service Collection of Entomopathogenic Fungal Cultures is the world's largest, most kaleidoscopic, and most comprehensive collection of living cultures of fungi that are pathogenic to or associated with insects, spiders, mites, ticks, and other invertebrates. Some isolates in the collection are not themselves invertebrate pathogens but are critically important for the improvements of taxonomies and systematics for the many diverse groups of fungi represented here. As of July 2016, ARSEF maintains more than 13000 isolates of more than 700 taxa of fungi isolated from 1300 hosts collected at more than 2400 locations on every continent. The database is searchable by Fungi, Hosts, Locations, Provenance, or Accessions. Results are provided in PDF format. Catalog files are in the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format and are readable with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. All catalogs and live searches of isolate data incorporate the most current supportable taxonomies for ARSEF fungi. Significant changes in the nomenclatural rules for many fungi have a large and ongoing impact on the entomopathogens in the order Hypocreales. These changes are discussed the introductory material in the catalogs. If you are unsure about the most current identifications for isolates, online searches of ARSEF accessions return taxonomic information in the collection database at the moment of the search.
The Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) is an online portal for information about agricultural genetic resources that are managed by the Agricultural Research Service of USDA, along with U.S. partnering organizations. The content includes general information about ARS animal, microbial and plant germplasm collections, most notably the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). The NPGS curates more than 600,000 active accessions of living plant material at 20 genebank locations around the U.S., and makes small quantities available globally to plant breeders and other professional scientists. GRIN also documents activities of Crop Germplasm Committees (CGC) that support the NPGS. The CGCs are comprised of public and private sector subject matter experts for a given crop (there are currently 44 CGCs) who voluntarily provide input on technical and operational matters to the NPGS. The site includes two searchable datasets: the ARS Rhizobium collection and Plant Variety Protection Certificates. The Rhizobium collection is living bacteria that nodulate the roots of leguminous plants symbiotically to provide nitrogen fixation. Samples are available to research scientists globally upon request. The Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Certificates are issued by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of USDA to provide intellectual property protection to registered new varieties of plants that are propagated by seed or tubers. The GRIN site allows queries of PVPs by certificate number, name of the crop, variety name, or certificate holder, all using data provided by the AMS.
The Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) is an online portal for information about agricultural genetic resources that are managed by the Agricultural Research Service of USDA, along with U.S. partnering organizations. The content includes general information about ARS animal, microbial and plant germplasm collections, most notably the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). The NPGS curates more than 600,000 active accessions of living plant material at 20 genebank locations around the U.S., and makes small quantities available globally to plant breeders and other professional scientists. GRIN also documents activities of Crop Germplasm Committees (CGC) that support the NPGS. The CGCs are comprised of public and private sector subject matter experts for a given crop (there are currently 44 CGCs) who voluntarily provide input on technical and operational matters to the NPGS. The site includes two searchable datasets: the ARS Rhizobium collection and Plant Variety Protection Certificates. The Rhizobium collection is living bacteria that nodulate the roots of leguminous plants symbiotically to provide nitrogen fixation. Samples are available to research scientists globally upon request. The Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Certificates are issued by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of USDA to provide intellectual property protection to registered new varieties of plants that are propagated by seed or tubers. The GRIN site allows queries of PVPs by certificate number, name of the crop, variety name, or certificate holder, all using data provided by the AMS.
GRIN-Global is an ongoing international collaborative project to develop shared and open-source applications that help manage plant germplasm collections. The software was jointly developed by the Agricultural Research Service of USDA, Global Crop Diversity Trust, and Bioversity International, with the first version released in December 2011. The ARS has used GRIN-Global to manage its plant germplasm collections, the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System, since November 2015. GRIN-Global is an extension of Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) information management system, which was first developed by ARS beginning in the mid-1980s. GRIN-Global is comprised of a suite of computer applications that are used internally by genebank staff to curate collections, as well as a public website through which scientists can query the database and request samples of germplasm through a shopping cart process.
The U.S. National Fungus Collections (BPI) are the “Smithsonian for fungi” and are the repository for over one million fungal specimens worldwide - the largest such collections in the world. The collection includes preserved organisms, their parts and products, and their associated data. Information associated with these specimens constitute an enormous data resource, especially about plant-associated fungi. The collections document fungi through time and space for the past 200 years. Data from the labels of more than 750,000 of the specimens have been entered into a database. These labels have information on the host on which the fungus was found and the locality in which the specimen was collected. Sixty percent of these specimens are from the United States and thus represent a large body of information about the fungi in this country. Data entry has been completed for the Uredinales (rusts), the Ustilaginales (smuts), the Polyporales (polypores), the Deuteromycetes (imperfect fungi), the Ascomycetes, and the C.G. Lloyd collections. Recent progress has been made in the computerization of specimens of the agarics and the "lower" fungi including the Oomycetes and Chytridiomycetes.
This subset of the U.S. National Insects Collection, which is primarly housed by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, comprises the Coccomorpha (scale insects), Aphidomorpha (aphids), Alyrodomorpha (whiteflies), Psyllomorpha (psyllids), Thysanoptera (thrips), and Acari (mites) collections. Information about the Aphidomorpha (Aphididae, Adelgidae, and Phylloxeridae) samples is available through this database. To search for one of these subgroups, use the "family" dropdown on one of the search subpages. You can search by Field or Keywords, and may also restrict your search to Genetic Samples, Primary Type Specimens, Species Inventory, Specimen Inventory, records with images, records with geo-referenced localities, or Illustrations.
The USDA Nematode Collection is one of the largest and most valuable nematode collections in existence. It contains over 49,000 permanent slides and vials, with a total repository of nematode specimens reaching several million, including Cobb-Steiner, Thorne, and other valuable collections. Nematodes contained in this collection originate from world-wide sources. The USDA Nematode Collection Database contains over 38,000 species entries. A broad range of data is stored for each specimen, including species, host, origin, collector, date collected and date received. All records are searchable and available to the public through the online database. The physical collection is housed at the USDA Nematology Laboratory in Beltsville, MD. Specimens are available for loan to scientists who cannot personally visit the collection. Please see the Policy for Loaning USDANC Specimens for more information on this process. Scientists and other workers are always welcomed and encouraged to deposit material into the collection.