NATIONAL BIORESOURCE PROJECT

The major purpose of the National BioResource Project(NBRP) is to collect, preserve, and provide bioresources(such as experimental animals and plants) that are essentialfor life sciences research. The project also aims to improvethese bioresources by increasing their value by enriching
their genome information and developing key preservation
technologies and other necessary procedures, in order tomeet current scientific demands. NIBB serves as the coreorganization center of medaka bioresources and as a subcenter of morning glory and the zebrafish bioresources.

I. NBRP Medaka (Oryzias latipes)
Project Manager: NARUSE, Kiyoshi

NBRP Medaka provides three groups of resources worldwide, including 1) live medaka resources comprising morethan 600 strains (strains for general use, wild populations,related species, inbred strains, mutants, and transgenics), 2)
genome resources (ca. 400 thousand cDNA clones originatedfrom 33 cDNA libraries, and BAC/Fosmid clones covering
the whole medaka genome), and 3) hatching enzymes necessary for manipulation and live imaging of the medaka
embryos. Entries for these resources can be found by various
methods such as keyword searches, sequence homologies,
and by opening the expression profile on the following website (https://shigen.nig.ac.jp/medaka/).
We provide a genome editing platform using CRISPR/Cas9.
Using collaborative research support, researchers can visit
NIBB to generate mutants by genome editing.
With the approval of the second supplementary budget for
FY2020, we were able to install a cabinet-type fish tankwashing machine. This has freed up our technical support
staff from the need to wash the tanks by hand and has
allowed us to focus more on breeding and management,
which requires more human work. In addition, a system toremotely monitor the temperature, humidity, and illumina-Medaka resources provided from NBRP medakation in the medaka breeding rooms and the water temperaturein the breeding tanks was installed. The air conditioner inthe breeding room was also upgraded. We have continuously monitored the medaka breeding conditions using thesesystems. In the collection of individual resources, we collected 26 strains (achievement rate 173%). As a result,the entire core institute now has 730 strains (achievementrate 125%). A total of 411 strains (achievement rate 117%)
were provided. 76 DNA clones were provided (achievement rate 38 %). As of FY2021, 395 hatching enzyme tubes(achievement rate 197%) were provided; thus the numerical targets for collection, conservation, and provisioning
were met for the entire project, except for the number ofclones provided. To enhance online contents, “The Life ofMy Master Dr. Tatsuo Aida” (edited by Tetsuro Takeuchi),“Biological Experiments for Elementary, Middle, andHigh School Students” (written by Kunisuke Takeuchi),and “Medaka Experiments Anyone Can Do” (written byKunisuke Takeuchi) were released from NBRP Medaka inApril 2021. In October 2021, a new database, “3D atlas andsingle cell transcriptome data of medaka pituitary” was madeavailable on NBRP Medaka. On September 16-17, 2021,
we participated in the 27th Small Fish Research Meeting,as well as the Small Fish Community Meeting. The 44th
Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan(December 1-3, 2021, Pacifico Yokohama) was held onsite,
and we promoted the project with Utsunomiya University
at a booth at the “National BioResource Project (NBRP) - Alineup of bioresources.

II. NBRP Morning Glory (Ipomoea nil)
Project Manager: HOSHINO, Atsushi

Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) is a traditional floricultural plant in Japan. Studied worldwide, it is commonly
investigated in the fields of plant physiology and genetics.
NIBB collects, develops, and distributes DNA clones, mutant
lines for flower pigmentation, and transgenic lines as a subcenter of the National BioResource Project (NBRP) Morning
Glory in collaboration with the core organization center atKyushu University. From April 2021 to March 2022, we collected 10 mutant lines and 6 transgenic lines. Additionally,
we provided 10 mutant lines, 2 transgenic lines, and 13 DNA
clones to both local and international biologists. Finally, weanalyzed whole-genome sequences of 100 mutant lines using
next-generation sequencers to develop genetic variation databases.

Left: The genome database (http://viewer.shigen.info/asagao/) containing
the whole-genome sequence, transcriptome sequences, and end sequencesof the EST and BAC clones. Mutation sequence information links thegenome and mutant databases. Right: A mutant flower phenotype101

National Institute for Basic Biology

Research SupportIII. NBRP Zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Project Manager: HIGASHIJIMA, Shin-ichi

NIBB is a sub-center of the National BioResource Project(NBRP) Zebrafish, and collaborates with the core organization center, RIKEN Brain Science Institute. We mainlycollect zebrafish strains expressing fluorescent proteins in
specific cells of the central nervous system and distributethem to researchers worldwide. The zebrafish is an importantand globally used experimental vertebrate model animal witha simple body structure. It can be genetically manipulated,and its embryos are transparent enough for optical observation. Research using zebrafish for the studies of neuraldevelopment and neural circuit functions are growing rapidly
worldwide, and the importance of strains collected andprovided by NIBB to researchers is growing accordingly.

An example of transgenic fish generated by the CRISPR/Cas9-mediatedknock-in method.

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