Acknowledgments: NSF DEB-1155984, USDA Agreement 58-1275-1-335 (N. Franz). ESA STEP travel

award (G. Zhang). Lourdes Chamorro and Robert Anderson provided input towards this project.

Model Purpose Adoptab-

ility

Access

(online)

Access

(loan)

Sustainability Researcher

empowerment

Lab Research High Poor Discretionary 20-30 years High

Museum Collection Moderate Variable Variable Long-term Variable

GGBN Res & Coll Unclear Good Variable Unclear Low

WTC Res & Coll High Good Available Long-term High

Building an accessible weevil tissue collection for genomic research Guanyang Zhang, Sangmi Lee, Bukola Obayomi, Joseph Hunter, Salvatore Anzaldo, Nico Franz

School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

gyz151@gmail.com, slee281@asu.edu, nico.franz@asu.edu, @GYZhang2 @taxonbytes

Fresh specimens are critical for molecular phylogenetic and -genomic

research, but can be difficult to obtain. Reasons for this bottleneck

include: (1) Monophyletic lineages are distributed across international

borders. (2) Individual, short-termed, international collecting trips often

fail to yield target species while generating “rare species” represented

by singletons or few specimens. (3) Locally common species are usually

neglected by local collectors, but may be important to foreign

researchers that cannot readily obtain them. (4) Entomological

museums and collections typically do not curate tissue collections

(TCs), due to special curatorial and resource challenges.

Fresh specimens – bottleneck in genomic research

We summarize and evaluate four models of TCs in the table below: Lab:

TCs curated by individual researchers. Museum: museum-based TCs.

GGBN (Global Genome Biodiversity Network, ggbn.org): network of

large museums. WTC: WeevilTissueCollection. Models may overlap.

The issues – accessibility, sustainability & empowerment

The Franz Lab and Hasbrouck Insect Collection at Arizona State

University (ASUHIC) are building the WTC. This collection combines the

advantages of other models with the following features. (1) Specimen

data and images are accessible on-line through the SCAN (Symbiota

Collections of Arthropods Network) portal. (2) Globally located

researchers can participate in on-line curation. (3) Specimens are

available for loan to all researchers and kinds of research, with minimal

administrative burden. (4) Long-term sustainability highly likely in a

public research university with a permanent commitment to collection

staff. In summary, the WTC model is designed to empower researchers.

WTC enables access & empowers researchers

Collecting: Existing specimens curated in WTC have been acquired in the course of multiple international field

trips, each lasting 2-3 weeks, spanning five Neotropical countries (Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala

and Panama). The main collecting method used are beating sheets targeting plants near ground level. Habitats

comprise primarily tropical dry and rainforests. Elevations of localities range from sea level to 2,500 m.

Sorting: Specimens were sorted to morpho-species, and each was

assigned a “WTCsp” number (Fig. 1). At least one specimen/species

was used as a WTC voucher, preserved in 95% ethanol, and stored in

-20°C or -80°C freezers. Duplicates, if present, serve as additional

WTC vouchers and dry specimens. All specimens were assigned

locally unique identifiers (catalogue numbers, e.g., ASUHIC0071465).

Two undergraduate students sorted and imaged 534 morpho-species,

taking altogether ~350 hours (= one semester + one summer).

Digitization: Voucher WTC specimens were imaged with a Leica M205C stereoscope equipped with an imaging

system. Specimens were temporarily dried and placed in a small glass, laying on glass beads to facilitate

positioning (Fig. 1D). Specimen occurrence records and images were recorded in, and uploaded to, SCAN

(http://symbiota4.acis.ufl.edu/scan/portal/).

On-line access: WTC voucher specimen records and images (Figs. 2,4) are

accessible using this link tinyurl.com/weeviltissuecollection (redirect to SCAN,

Fig. 3). Specimen records can also be interactively viewed on Google map (Fig. 5).

Remote identification & annotation of WTC

specimens can be performed in SCAN, by

taxonomic experts examining specimen records

and images (Fig. 8). Genus-level identification

is often achievable based on images. This

process is enabled by SCAN’s multi-user

platform. A community of researchers can

participate in the on-line curation of WTC

specimens and request loans. Other researchers

have shown interests in WTC (Fig. 7).

Loan policy: All WTC specimens are

available for loan to any researcher,

and including diverse research foci.

Figure 7. E-mail from a weevil researcher showing interest in the WTC holdings.

Figure 8. Online identification and annotation of a specimen record representing an undescribed new species.

Figure 2. A specimen record with habitus images.

Figure 4. WeevilTissueCollection (WTC) data portal snippet.

Figure 5. Interactive distribution map of WTC specimens.

Molecular work: DNA extraction from whole

bodies is recommended for small weevils (<5

mm), which constitute the WTC majority. For

larger specimens, a hindleg can be used. If in

need of high quantities of DNA, muscle tissues

from the thorax may be dissected out.

Extracted whole specimens will be mounted

and integrated with regular dry specimens.

Curation of genomic extracts: DNA extracts obtained by the

local or external researchers will be deposited at ASUHIC and

stored in a -80°C freezer. In the future we will explore

methods of preserving and transporting genomic DNA extracts

under dry conditions, and also best practices to make genomic

extracts available for loan. SCAN is developing a DNA module.

Morphological work: WTC specimens are also available for

research that is exclusively morphological. DNA extraction will

be performed by the owner institution (ASUHIC) before

specimen loans are issued. New species are evidently present

in WTC (Fig. 6), and making the respective specimens

available for description and publication is a top priority. Figure 6. A WTC specimen from Cuba representing possibly a new species of Sicoderus.

Figure 1. Specimen labeling, storage, and temporary mount systems.

(A) Collecting data label, WTCsp code, and catalogue number label.

(B) As in (A), showing a large specimen.

(C) Storage tubes (2ml & 5ml).

(D) Temporary mount in a glass dish bedded with glass beads for imaging.

(A) (B) (C)

(D)

[Researcher X]

Figure 3. QR code for WTC access link