PERSPECTIVE
Domes ica ed Animal Biobanking: Land o
Oppo uni y
Linn F. G oene eld
1
*, Sigbjø n G egusson
2
, Be n Guldb and sen
3
, Sipke J. Hiems a
4
,
K is ian H eem
5
, Juha Kan anen
6,7
, Hannes Lohi
8
, Lina S oems ed
9
, Pee Be g
1
1No dGen— he No dic Gene ic Resou ce Cen e , Ås, No way, 2BioBank AS, Hama , No way, 3Aa hus
Uni e si y, Aa hus, Denma k, 4Cen e o Gene ic Resou ces, he Ne he lands (CGN), Wageningen
Uni e si y and Resea ch Cen e, Wageningen, he Ne he lands, 5Depa men o Public Heal h, No wegian
Uni e si y o Science and Technology (NTNU), T ondheim, No way, 6Na u al Resou ces Ins i u e Finland
(Luke), Helsinki, Finland, 7Depa men o En i onmen al and Biological Sciences, Uni e si y o Eas e n
Finland, Kuopio, Finland, 8Resea ch P og ams Uni , Molecula Neu ology, and Depa men o Ve e ina y
Biosciences, Uni e si y o Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, 9SLU Biobank, Depa men o Animal B eeding and
Gene ics, Swedish Uni e si y o Ag icul u al Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
*linn.g oene eld@no dgen.o g
Abs ac
In he pas decade, biobanking has uelled g ea scien i ic ad ances in he human medical
sec o . Well-es ablished domes ica ed animal biobanks and in eg a ed ne wo ks likewise
ha bou immense po en ial o g ea scien i ic ad ances wi h b oad socie al impac s, which
a e cu en ly no being ully ealised. Poli ical and scien i ic leade s as well as jou nals and
e hics commi ees should help o ensu e ha we a e well equipped o mee u u e demands
in li es ock p oduc ion, animal models, and e e ina y ca e o companion animals.
In he las decade, human biobanking has eme ged as an impo an d i e o scien i ic ac i i-
ies, and biobanks a e indispu ably an in aluable esou ce o all ypes o esea ch aimed a
imp o ing public heal h. The combina ion o accessible and well-cha ac e ized biological sam-
ples o a ious ypes linked wi h a mul i ude o associa ed da a is d i ing scien i ic disco e ies
a unp eceden ed speed and making p e iously un hinkable lines o esea ch a eali y [1,2].
Un o una ely, biobanking o animal samples is by a less well-es ablished. In Ma ch 2015,
Na u e published an a icle, i led “Inside he i s pig biobank,”desc ibing a newly es ablished
biobank o po cine samples o be used in s udying human diabe es and hailing i as a pionee -
ing e o in animal biobanking [3]. A PubMed sea ch con i med ha in compa ison o human
biobanking he e appea s o be negligible ac i i y in he animal biobanking sec o . Sea ching
i les, abs ac s, and keywo ds wi h he sea ch keys “biobank,”“biobanking,”“genebank,”and
“gene bank”and limi ing he esul s o publica ion da es in 2015, only 9 o 498 sea ch esul s
e e ed o animal biobanks (see S1 Da a). This appa en lack o ac i i y in he animal biobank-
ing sec o is also e lec ed in a 2015 edi o ial o Biop ese a ion and Biobanking, he o icial
jou nal o he In e na ional Socie y o Biological and En i onmen al Reposi o ies (ISBER),
which ca e s o biobanks o any species. The au ho s conclude ha e en hough he e has been
PLOS Biology | DOI:10.1371/jou nal.pbio.1002523 July 28, 2016 1/6
a11111
OPEN ACCESS
Ci a ion: G oene eld LF, G egusson S,
Guldb and sen B, Hiems a SJ, H eem K, Kan anen
J, e al. (2016) Domes ica ed Animal Biobanking:
Land o Oppo uni y. PLoS Biol 14(7): e1002523.
doi:10.1371/jou nal.pbio.1002523
Published: July 28, 2016
Copy igh : © 2016 G oene eld e al. This is an open
access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he
C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License, which pe mi s
un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any
medium, p o ided he o iginal au ho and sou ce a e
c edi ed.
Funding: The au ho s ecei ed no speci ic unding
o his wo k.
Compe ing In e es s: The au ho s ha e decla ed
ha no compe ing in e es s exis .
Abb e ia ions: BBMRI, Biobanking and
BioMolecula Resou ces Resea ch In as uc u e;
EMBRC, Eu opean Ma ine Biological Resou ce
Cen e; ESFRI, Eu opean Council’s Eu opean
S a egy Fo um on Resea ch In as uc u es;
EUGENA, Eu opean Genebank Ne wo k o Animal
Gene ic Resou ces; GGBN, Global Genome
Biodi e si y Ne wo k; IPN, in ec ious panc ea ic
nec osis; ISBER, In e na ional Socie y o Biological
and En i onmen al Reposi o ies; MIRRI, Mic obial
Resou ce Resea ch In as uc u e; QTL, quan i a i e
ai locus; SLU, Swedish Uni e si y o Ag icul u al
Sciences
inc easing pa icipa ion om he non-human biobanking sec o in he annual ISBER mee ings,
he e is s ill a p onounced lack o submissions o he jou nal pe aining o non-human bio-
banking, and human biobanking issues con inue o domina e ISBER ac i i ies [4]. The oad-
map o he Eu opean Council’s Eu opean S a egy Fo um on Resea ch In as uc u es (ESFRI)
e eals ha he e a e p ojec s unde way in ol ing human (Biobanking and BioMolecula
Resou ces Resea ch In as uc u e [BBMRI]), ma ine (Eu opean Ma ine Biological Resou ce
Cen e [EMBRC]), mic obial (Mic obial Resou ce Resea ch In as uc u e [MIRRI]), and
mouse model (In a on ie ) biobanks, wi h gene al animal biobanks s a kly missing on ha
lis [5].
Na u ally, some non-human biobanks s o ing animal samples, amongs o he s, do exis .
The mos ac i e a e likely he na u al his o y collec ions, because hey ha e he in insic ask o
collec , ca alogue, and s o e specimens. The Global Genome Biodi e si y Ne wo k (GGBN),
es ablished in 2011, ac s as an umb ella o ganisa ion o biodi e si y eposi o ies and aims o
es ablish s anda ds and bes p ac ices as well as inc ease sample accessibili y h ough i s da a
po al [6]. A sea ch o he mos common domes ica ed animal species (ca le, sheep, goa , pig,
ho se, chicken, and dog) yielded only 13 eco ds in he GGBN membe eposi o ies.
Howe e , some domes ica ed animal biobanks and less o malized sample collec ions can
be ound. Thei hos ing ins i u ions ange om e e ina y hospi als, zoos, b eeding and diag-
nos ics companies, na ional a m animal gene ic esou ce gene banks, o esea ch ins i u es
and uni e si ies. Depending on hei pu pose, he s o ed ypes o samples a y g ea ly and
ange om heal hy issue samples, diseased pa hogenic issue samples, DNA, and RNA o
ep oduc i e ma e ials. An example o a well-es ablished physical non-human biobanking
in as uc u e se ing a uni e si y is he Swedish Uni e si y o Ag icul u al Sciences’(SLU)
Biobank (h p://www.slu.se/slubiobank). This biobank also o e s a da a po al o inc easing
he isibili y and accessibili y o non-human sample collec ions no ma e whe e hey a e
s o ed. This da a po al would be edundan i all samples, oge he wi h hei associa ed da a,
we e s o ed in es ablished biobanks ha ensu ed he isibili y o hei samples h ough a ne -
wo k such as GGBN. In con as , he Eu opean Genebank Ne wo k o Animal Gene ic
Resou ces (EUGENA), coo dina ed by he Eu opean Regional Focal Poin on Animal Gene ic
Resou ces (h p://www. p-eu ope.o g), is an eme ging ne wo king ac i i y speci ically a ge -
ing only na ional a m animal gene ic esou ce collec ions [7]. These dispa a e examples dem-
ons a e ha he e is a lack o a uni ied and gene alized app oach o sample collec ions in he
domes ica ed animal sec o .
None heless, he e a e nume ous examples o how di e en disciplines and s akeholde s,
and ul ima ely he gene al public, ha e al eady bene i ed om he a ailabili y o biobanked
domes ica ed animal samples.
E en hough he pig biobank was commended as a pionee ing e o [3], he e a e in ac a
numbe o biobanks ha accommoda e animal models o he s udy o human disease. The
domes ic dog, o example, wi h i s unique popula ion his o y, b eed s uc u e, and hund eds
o spon aneous gene ic condi ions has p o en o be an excellen model o gene mapping in
simple and complex diso de s [8]. Ta ge ed and e ec i e b eeding p og ams o e he pas 150
yea s ha e c ea ed hund eds o dis inc b eeds ha o m gene ic isola es wi h educed gene ic
he e ogenei y. This simpli ies gene ic s udies because ewe suscep ibili y loci wi h highe
impac con ibu e o complex disease and allow gene ic b eak h oughs wi h smalle s udy
coho s as compa ed o he co esponding human condi ions [9].
The anno a ion o he canine genome acili a ed a apid e olu ion o genomic ools and
de elopmen o se e al canine biobanks ac oss he con inen s [10]. Collec i ely, hese biobanks
house hund eds o housands o DNA samples and issue specimens o hund eds o condi-
ions wi h medical ele ance o humans. Impo an ly, many canine biobanks main ain ac i e
PLOS Biology | DOI:10.1371/jou nal.pbio.1002523 July 28, 2016 2/6
collabo a i e ne wo ks wi h he b eede communi y and dog ancie s as well as e e ina y clin-
ics and hospi als o pa ien ec ui men and heal h upda es.
Besides playing an ins umen al ole o human heal h, biobanked animal samples hea ily
impac de elopmen s in ood p oduc ion and he sus ainable managemen o he wo ld’s ini e
esou ces. Biobanks in animal b eeding, o en e e ed o as gene banks, we e ini ially es ab-
lished wi h he ad en o new ep oduc i e echniques, such as a i icial insemina ion, and ypi-
cally s o ed semen and emb yos. These biobanks ecen ly played a c i ical ole in he swi
implemen a ion o genomic selec ion, which uses genome-wide SNP ma ke s o p edic he
gene ic me i o b eeding indi iduals [11,12]. The e icien use o genomic selec ion equi es
la ge e e ence panels o indi iduals whose gene ic alues a e known wi h high con idence. In
ca le b eeding, hese a e bulls wi h la ge numbe s o o sp ing wi h eco ded pe o mance
da a, such as milk yield. Genomic selec ion could only be implemen ed so swi ly and success-
ully because DNA o semen samples om a la ge numbe o bulls we e a ailable om ca le
b eeding company biobanks, and hese samples could be linked o pe o mance eco ds o he
espec i e bulls’o sp ing. This echnology was i s adop ed by he dai y indus y and can
po en ially esul in a 60%–120% inc ease in he a e o gene ic gain. Toge he wi h ad anced
geno yping and ep oduc i e echnologies, genomic selec ion has he po en ial o inc ease
gene ic imp o emen bo h in o en neglec ed ai s, such as eed e iciency and e ili y, and in
ai s ha only ecen ly ha e become o in e es , such as me hane ou pu in uminan s o adap-
a ion o clima e change [12]. Imp o emen s in hese ai s a e o g ea in e es o ensu ing
global ood secu i y and sus ainable managemen o ou limi ed esou ces. Wi hou he a ail-
abili y o he gene bank samples, as well as associa ed pe o mance da a eco ds, his ans o -
ma ion would ha e aken decades, i i had happened a all.
Biobanks also play an in eg al pa in wo ldwide conse a ion e o s o coun e ac he well-
documen ed loss o gene ic di e si y in p oduc ion animals [13,14]. Slowly, he gene al pe cep-
ion ha hese eposi o ies a e only o be used in eme gencies and as a las eso is changing.
In 2012, he USDA Na ional Animal Ge mplasm P og am, o example, ha bou ed mo e han
700,000 game e and issue samples om o e 18,000 animals ep esen ing mo e han 130
b eeds. F om his eposi o y, samples om mo e han 3,300 animals had been eques ed and
dis ibu ed o use in esea ch and indus y by 2012. The applica ions included quan i a i e
ai locus (QTL) s udies, assessmen o gene ic dis ances, c yobiology esea ch, gene a ion o
an expe imen al esea ch line, educ ion o inb eeding, and e-in oduc ion o geno ypic com-
bina ions los in cu en p oduc ion popula ions [14]. Samples om a e and endange ed
b eeds a e also inding use in esea ch and de elopmen o he leading b eeding companies.
Fo example, in he Ne he lands, a conso ium o uni e si y and dai y indus y pa ne s geno-
yped samples om a e local ca le b eeds o gain insigh in o he gene ic backg ound o milk
a y acid composi ion. Genomic-assis ed in og ession could ul ima ely be used o in oduce
a ou able alleles ound in he a e b eeds in o mo e widely used b eeds.
Biobanked samples also played an impo an ole in igh ing a i al in ec ion, in ec ious
panc ea ic nec osis (IPN), which is common in a med ish. This i us can lead o a es o
>90% mo ali y in a med A lan ic salmon, which, he e o e, poses a h ea o animal wel a e
and aquacul u e indus ies. In 2008, a majo QTL o IPN- esis ance was de ec ed in A lan ic
salmon. Al eady, a yea la e , AquaGen, which supplies abou 55% o A lan ic salmon eggs
used comme cially in No way, was employing ma ke -assis ed selec ion o p oduce IPN- esis-
an ish. This swi implemen a ion o he QTL in ma ke -assis ed selec ion was only possible
due o he a ailabili y o biobanked samples collec ed in a challenge es in 2005 [15].
In addi ion o comba ing disease in animals, biobanked domes ic animal samples also play
a c ucial ole in igh ing eme ging in ec ious diseases ha a e o en zoono ic, meaning ha
hey can be ansmi ed be ween e eb a e animals and humans. Ha ing access o samples o
PLOS Biology | DOI:10.1371/jou nal.pbio.1002523 July 28, 2016 3/6
species ha ac as ese oi s o a disease g ea ly acili a es he wo k o public heal h esponde s
du ing in ec ious disease ou b eaks [16]. In his con ex , he collec ion and aceable link o
associa ed samples, such as pa asi es, pa hogens, and o he mic obio a, o hei pa en sample
becomes especially impo an .
We a e con inced ha hese examples lea e no doub ha biobanked animal samples hold
g ea po en ial bo h o ad ancing human and animal heal h and wel a e as well as secu ing
u u e ood p oduc ion. Fu he mo e, he ecen ad en o cos -e icien gene modi ica ion
echnologies [17] en isages many p oduc ion, pe o mance, and heal h applica ions in li e-
s ock and companion animals and u he adds in e es in animal biobanks.
When examining he causes o he low le els o ac i i y in la ge-scale domes ica ed animal
biobanking, bo h in ega d o he es ablishmen o use o exis ing physical biobanking in a-
s uc u es as well as o e a ching da a po als, a numbe o hypo heses come o mind. The
indus ies connec ed o domes ica ed animal biobanking, such as li es ock and companion ani-
mal p oduc ion and e e ina y ca e, a e dwa ed by he heal hca e indus y, so mone a y
incen i es would p esumably play a much smalle ole. Legisla ion may ha e ac ed as a d i e
in he o maliza ion and shaping o biobanks and di e en ial legisla ion ega ding he han-
dling, s o age, and sha ing o human e sus animal biosamples, and associa ed da a may hus
ha e led o dispa a e de elopmen s. I is mo eo e concei able ha he communi y a ound
domes ica ed animal biobanking is mo e agmen ed and consis s o mo e di e se s akeholde s
(academic, non-p o i , indus ial) han he human biobanking communi y, which could
explain he absence o la ge-scale coope a i e umb ella p ojec s. Mo eo e , he e may be
g ea e di icul ies in d a ing ma e ial ans e ag eemen s o ep oduc i e ma e ials han o
o he ypes o samples.
We will only be able o exploi he ull po en ial i we, in pa allel wi h human and biodi e -
si y biobanking, ackle he challenges o s anda dized sampling, p ocessing, and s o age, sam-
ple isibili y and accessibili y, s anda dized codes o diagnoses, collec ion and s o age o
associa ed da a wi h he possibili y o upda es, as well as e hical and egula o y issues. He e, i
is ad isable ha he domes ica ed animal sec o ensu es ull compa ibili y wi h and elies on
exis ing ini ia i es whe e e easible. Especially impo an in his con ex is o ensu e a link
be ween samples and associa ed phenomic and genomic da a, such as de i ed sequence da a.
To achie e ag eemen on s anda ds, bo h in e ms o sample p ocessing and s o age and sam-
ple isibili y and accessibili y, ac o s om e e ina y hospi als, zoos, b eeding and diagnos ics
companies, na ional a m animal gene ic esou ce gene banks, esea ch ins i u es, uni e si ies,
and policymake s need o join o ces. This is whe e we momen a ily see a lack o coo dina ed
e o s.
To espond o hese challenges and o ensu e ha we a e well equipped o mee u u e
demands in li es ock p oduc ion, animal models, and e e ina y ca e o companion animals,
we p opose ha scien i ic and poli ical leade s need o (i) acknowledge he inadequacy o he
cu en si ua ion, (ii) c ea e oppo uni y and suppo o he es ablishmen o an in e na ional
esea ch in as uc u e o animal biobanking, and (iii) mo i a e academic and indus ial s ake-
holde s o de elop and coo dina e biobanks based on lessons lea ned om human and biodi-
e si y biobanking.
In Eu ope, he Eu opean Council’s ESFRI could play a leading ole in he es ablishmen o a
domes ica ed animal biobanking ne wo k, including bes p ac ices, di ely needed s anda ds,
and a common on ology. In a landscape analysis o Eu opean esea ch in as uc u es, he
2016 ESFRI oadmap acknowledges a gap in he ag icul u al and bio-economy sec o and
explici ly lis s li es ock acili ies including gene banks [5]. While an inc ease in ac i i ies
ega ding biobanking o a m animal gene ic esou ces is ce ainly ele an , we conside his
no o be a - eaching enough. A s ep in he igh di ec ion would be o begin wi h compiling
PLOS Biology | DOI:10.1371/jou nal.pbio.1002523 July 28, 2016 4/6
in o ma ion on all exis ing animal biobanks, analogous o BBMRI’s ca alogue o Eu opean
human biobanks [18], which cu en ly con ains in o ma ion on 340 biobanks (h p://www.
bbm ipo al.eu/).
Mo eo e , e hics commi ees should equi e he s o age o samples and associa ed da a in
o malized biobanks o he app o al o scien i ic expe imen s. Simila ly, jou nals should apply
he same s anda d o samples and associa ed da a, as hey cu en ly apply o molecula da a, in
e ms o s o age in o malized eposi o ies p io o publica ion.
Suppo ing In o ma ion
S1 Da a. PubMed sea ch. A PubMed sea ch was ca ied ou on Janua y 14, 2016. Ti les,
abs ac s, and keywo ds we e sea ched wi h he sea ch keys "biobank," "biobanking," "gene-
bank," and "gene bank," and esul s we e limi ed o publica ion da es in 2015.
(XLSX)
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