BIOCET - CETACEAN BIOBANK
BIOCET biobank represents the southern hemisphere's most diverse tissue archive. An expansive 25 year collection of dry, fixed, frozen tissue samples and swabs spanning 21 native, migratory and vagrant cetacean species in New Zealand.
Fixed Collection
Formalin and ethanol fixed tissues comprise majority of the fixed collection.
Formalin fixed tissues include brain, spinal cord, heart, lung, liver, kidney, adrenal, spleen, pancreas, skeletal muscle (diaphragm and sternal), intestine, ovaries and testes. These tissues underpin pathology and health studies.
Ethanol fixed tissues include skin, teeth and stomach contents which support a range of life history and dietary studies.
Frozen Collection
A wide selection of tissue and fluid samples which form the basis of virological, bacterial, molecular and toxicological studies.
-80 samples include blood, milk, semen, brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, adrenal and spleen in addition to pooled mixed virology samples.
-20 samples include blubber, muscle, liver, kidney and heart samples which underpin toxicology, health and anatomical studies.
Dry Collection
Our dry collection predominantly comprises skull, teeth and forelimbs from assorted species.
Skulls are used in taxonomic and ecological studies including collagen, SIA and morphometric studies.
Forelimbs and teeth currently underpin bone and epigenetic aging models.
Swab Collection
Buccal, phalangeal, genital and anal swabs collected for microbiology and viral assessment in stranded dolphins are archived within BIOCET for current metagenomic projects.
GI tract swabs and lung swabs also form part of the collection for gut microbiome research and as part of ongoing disease surveillance efforts.
