Data providing member | Joined: October 11, 2011
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Online since: July 11, 2013
Last update: July 5, 2026
Collections include botanical, vertebrate and invertebrate tissues and extractions
Tissue and DNA Collection (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History)
The museum’s genetic resource collections began more than 40 years ago as curator-driven research material. Over time, we realized that dispersed collections are vulnerable to equipment failures and sample mismanagement or loss. Therefore, we began an organized effort to centralize these collections, first within some research departments, and then throughout the museum.In 2010 NMNH constructed a biorepository, which began receiving collections in 2011. The current capacity is approximately 4.2 million 2 ml cryovials that are housed in 76 ultra-cold mechanical and liquid nitrogen freezers and a small number of refrigerators. All cold storage units are monitored constantly for performance.
NMNH uses a modified version of FreezerPro (Ruro.com) to maintain and track inventory. FreezerPro is connected via an Application Programming Interface (API) to KE EMu, the museum’s catalog system. EMu provides a limited form of the catalog information to allow easier identification of samples. Each vial is assigned a locally unique Biorepository Number by FreezerPro to facilitate a unified system for locating and identifying samples.
The collection includes insects, birds, terrestrial plants, marine and terrestrial invertebrates, algae, fish, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, bacteria and protozoans. Current strengths are in bird, marine and terrestrial mammal, and insect holdings, although significant projects have been initiated that will broaden and deepen the taxonomical representation as well as environments. Human tissues, commercial, and agricultural products are not a part of the collection. A complete inventory of all holdings is underway. The entire collection presently numbers more than 250,000 and could be twice that number. All these materials are available for use in genomic research, toxicology studies and environmental monitoring.
Contacts
Sample Requests
NMNH Biorepository
NMNHBIOREPOSITORY@si.edu
P. O. Box 37012
10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
20013-7012 Washington
United States
NMNH Biorepository
NMNHBIOREPOSITORY@si.edu
P. O. Box 37012
10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
20013-7012 Washington
United States
Primary Contact
Carol Butler
butlerc@si.edu
P. O. Box 37012
10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
20013-7012 Washington
United States
Carol Butler
butlerc@si.edu
P. O. Box 37012
10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
20013-7012 Washington
United States
Primary Contact
Katie Barker
barkerk@si.edu
P. O. Box 37012
10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
20013-7012 Washington
United States
Katie Barker
barkerk@si.edu
P. O. Box 37012
10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
20013-7012 Washington
United States
Institution Type
MuseumCollection Type
Tissue, Genetic, Preserved, ProductsCollection Coverage
Kingdoms: Animalia, Plantae, Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Fungi, Protista
Taxa: N/A
Usage restrictions
Vary with collection itemAccess rights
Copyright Smithsonian InstitutionCuration details
Primary Purpose: Research
Development Status: Active growth
Preservation methods: Cryopreserved, Frozen
Known to contain types: Yes
McGinley Conservation statuses
Level 6: Identified, integrated, and adequately curated.
Date: 2015-11-20
Date: 2015-11-20
Institution Codes
Acronym: NMNH
CITES: US 005 (A/P)
Rights
We own them| Back to report list | Get JSON |
Report for July 2017, created on 2017-08-31 | |
252
unique searches retrieved data from this resource
5,507
unique records from this resource were previewed in the hitlist
Query terms
| Query term | Number of records previewed | Number of searches |
|---|---|---|
| country=Brazil&kingdom=Animalia | 541 | 1 |
| country=Brazil&kingdom=Animalia&voucherCol=NMNH, Washington | 541 | 1 |
| country=Viet Nam | 1 | 3 |
| country=Viet Nam&kingdom=Animalia | 1 | 2 |
| familyName=Felidae | 337 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Acanthurus triostegus (Linnaeus, 1758) | 10 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=Agelena labyrinthica* | 1 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Alticus simplicirrus Smith-Vaniz & Springer, 1971 | 2 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Canis lupus familiaris Linnaeus, 1758 | 9 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Chauna torquata&kingdom=Animalia | 4 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Chlorurus sordidus (Forsskål, 1775) | 24 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Crocanthemum canadense* | 8 | 6 |
| fullScientificName=Gorilla gorilla | 7 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Guaruba guarouba (Gmelin, 1788) | 3 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=Helianthemum canadense (L.) Michx. | 9 | 8 |
| fullScientificName=Hudsonia tomentosa* | 2 | 5 |
| fullScientificName=Lechea mucronata Raf. | 4 | 5 |
| fullScientificName=Mussaenda* | 4 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Parupeneus cyclostomus (Lacepède, 1801) | 7 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=Phrynobatrachus&kingdom=Animalia | 46 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Senecio&kingdom=Plantae | 8 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=Urticaceae* | 26 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=acalypha* | 6 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=aechmea* | 2 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=alpinia* | 2 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=androsace* | 6 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=anthurium* | 10 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=aphelandra* | 2 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=areca* | 5 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=arecaceae | 5 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=artemisia* | 14 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=asclepias* | 11 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=begonia* | 6 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=clerodendrum* | 2 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=costus* | 8 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=ctenidae&kingdom=Animalia | 2 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=dichorisandra* | 6 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=ephedra* | 5 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=erigeron* | 16 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=eriogonum* | 5 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=euphorbia* | 55 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=felidae&kingdom=Animalia | 337 | 3 |
| fullScientificName=heliconia* | 1 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=hibiscus* | 14 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=hieracium* | 4 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=inula* | 1 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=kaempferia* | 4 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=lathyrus* | 5 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=mussaenda* | 4 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=osmoxylon* | 3 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=paronychia* | 4 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=phlox* | 8 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=plantago* | 13 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=potentilla fruticosa | 5 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=potentilla* | 43 | 2 |
| fullScientificName=russelia* | 1 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=salvia* | 22 | 1 |
| fullScientificName=saponaria* | 1 | 1 |
| genusName=Crocanthemum&familyName=Cistaceae | 9 | 2 |
| genusName=Hudsonia&familyName=Cistaceae | 2 | 1 |
| genusName=Lechea&familyName=Cistaceae | 4 | 1 |
| institution=NMNH, Washington | 2876 | 6 |
| sampletype=tissue&fullScientificName=Certhia brachydactyla | 2 | 1 |
| sampletype=tissue&fullScientificName=Crocanthemum canadense | 8 | 1 |
| sampletype=tissue&fullScientificName=Delphinus delphis | 1414 | 1 |
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