Museum’s frozen biological samples provide a wealth of information for scientists around the world | Community Features

Beneath the public galleries of the University of Alaska Museum of the North (UAMN) lies a unique library of life.

This library doesn’t lend books or manuscripts; instead, it loans frozen biological samples from a collection of over 240,000 tissues collected from specimens archived in the mammal, bird, fish and insect collections in the museum. Each sample is a time capsule of irreplaceable information about the specimen and its environment at the time that it was collected. To make sure none of that information is lost over time, tissues are stored in liquid-nitrogen-cooled cryovats that keep samples frozen at 274 degree below zero. These extreme temperatures essentially halt all biological degradation and preserve the most fragile of molecules, ensuring that samples maintain the same properties that they had the day they were placed in a cryovat, whether that was a week ago or decades ago. Every year an average of 800 samples are sent to scientists around the world so that the information preserved within them can be unlocked.

The museum’s frozen tissue collection is a critical resource for diverse scientific research.

Scientists can use samples to analyze changes within a species over time, identify pathogens, assess toxin exposure and more. These studies in turn guide wildlife management, provide insight into human health, and contribute to the broader understanding of ecosystems at local to global scales.

For example, a study published this year used Pacific walrus tissues from the frozen tissue collection, alongside ancient bone samples, to answer questions about changes in genetic diversity over time. Former museum Ph.D. student Kendall Mills and a team of researchers set out to explore the impacts of historic overharvesting of walruses by commercial hunting. To find out how overharvesting impacted genetic diversity, the researchers extracted DNA from ancient and modern walrus samples to look at changes over time. Through collaboration with a wide range of biorepositories, research institutions and museum collections, they built a dataset spanning samples from 3,300-year-old archaeological specimens to those collected through subsistence hunting in 2016. Contributions to the project included the Smithsonian Institution, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, UIC Science, LLC in Utqiagvik, and the UAMN’s frozen tissue and archaeology collections, among others. The information they gained from this research suggested that genetic diversity in walruses has been resilient in the face of overharvesting so far, meaning they are less likely to experience negative effects of inbreeding if their population is temporarily reduced. This research underscores the importance of biorepositories and collaboration between collections, agencies and Indigenous subsistence communities for wildlife conservation efforts and sustainable management of populations.

Research on borealpox (formerly Alaskapox) — a virus first identified in a human patient in Fairbanks in 2015 — has also been supported by collaboration between agencies and the use of the museum’s frozen tissue collection. When the virus was first identified, scientists needed to learn more about its prevalence. When evidence pointed to native small mammals as a likely reservoir, scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated with museum researchers to test wild animals captured around Fairbanks for the virus while also testing samples that had been housed in the museum frozen tissue collection. By testing tissues from northern red-backed voles collected outside of the Fairbanks area, scientists traced the virus’s presence as far back as 1998 in a specimen from Denali National Park and Preserve (older samples dating back a century or more are currently being screened). This showed that the virus was present in Alaska before its discovery in humans, and that the virus could be found outside of Fairbanks. This type of retrospective analysis is important for understanding the spread of diseases and guiding future research efforts, and would not be possible if the samples from the 1990s had not been preserved for future use. As scientists continue to learn more about the prevalence of borealpox in wildlife, the frozen tissue collection plays an important role as a repository for samples collected in the field, and by providing additional historic samples for strategic testing.

Some research questions would be too broad to answer without access to biorepositories. A paper published this year by lead author Antonia Androski and a team of researchers explored the historic geographic distribution and diversity of mammals in Southeast Alaska. To accomplish this, they needed to conduct extensive specimen sampling across a broad range of species and time periods. They were able to do this by leveraging biorepository resources that are made available through online databases. To find out how many preserved specimens have been collected in Southeast Alaska and preserved for research, the authors queried ARCTOS, a museum database that hosts specimen data for collections at University of Alaska Museum as well as hundreds of other collections around the world. Thanks to the ‘discoverability’ of such data online, the researchers were able to find that archived tissues were available for 20,293 mammals that had been collected over time in Southeast Alaska. The ability to access such a broad dataset can facilitate research that would be otherwise impossible, but also illuminates the need for improved collaboration for preserving samples.

The researchers found that only 55% of the species included in their search had enough specimens to conduct population-level genetic analyses of diversity. Some species such as carnivores and game species are regularly harvested in Southeast Alaska, yet they are among the least-represented species in biorepositories. This highlights an opportunity to improve coordination between state agencies, communities, and biorepositories so that samples from these specimens can be preserved for future research.

Specimens in the museum’s frozen tissue collection come from a variety of sources, whether they be contributions from researchers, hunters, management agencies, subsistence users, or even salvaged roadkill. Any specimen associated with data (at a minimum, where and when it was collected) is a potential source of information for future researchers to discover.

Collaboration is essential for conservation research. Agencies whose missions are supported by specimen-based research can continue supporting conservation by partnering with museums, making use of existing infrastructure to preserve samples that may otherwise become degraded and lost to time. By working together, agencies and museums help scientists answer critical questions about wildlife management, disease prevalence, ecosystem resilience, and much more, enriching our understanding and stewardship of the natural world.

Family programs from the UA Museum of the North are focusing on fossils during November.

Early Explorers, for children 5 and younger with their caregivers, is Nov. 8.

Children 6 and older are invited to the drop in for Junior Curators on Nov. 9.

Family Day: Fossils will be held at the museum on Nov. 23, offering a chance for all ages to explore. Kids 17 and younger are admitted free on Family Days. Learn more at bit.ly/uamnfamilydays.

The museum’s winter hours are from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., seven days a week. For more information about the museum’s collections, programs, and events, visit www.uaf.edu/museum or call 907-474-7505.

Mallory Gulbranson is the genomic resources manager for the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

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