ZooRepository - Tissues and living cells from zoos at LIB Biobank

The ex situ conservation of endangered species is an important task of zoos and aquariums. Sometimes species or populations that are extinct in the wild have their final home in zoos.
Similarly, collections of living cells (such as those in the LIB Biobank) are repositories of biological samples for sustainable use in research and conservation. Cells can be a source of high-quality DNA, RNA and chromosomes, and somatic cells can be reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

Both zoos and cell biobanks can be seen as living archives of biodiversity on a macroscopic and microscopic level respectively. As cells of different species can be preserved in liquid nitrogen for long periods, cell banks are sometimes referred to as "frozen zoos" (such as the notable example of the San Diego Zoo). Similar to zoos, cell banks can in principle help with conservation programmes for endangered species.

For several years, the LIB Cell Bank has been collaborating with several institutions in Germany, such as the Green Zoo Wuppertal, Krefeld Zoo, Wilhelma Zoological-Botanical Garden Stuttgart, Neuwied Zoo, the wildlife enclosure and bird of prey station Hellenthal and many others. These institutions have donated a considerable number of samples and thus contributed to the continuous growth of the tissue collection and the collection of living cells in the LIB Biobank.