National Gene Bank

by+Li+Zhuoxi

After five years of committed effort， China announced the opening of its first national gene bank in September 2016. The institution is the largest of its kind and the fourth in the world after the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the United States， DNA Data Bank of Japan， and European Bioinformatics Institute.

Contrasting its three forerunners， the National Gene Bank of China （NGBC） features not only data preservation but also sample storage. It has been reported that NGBC has established ties with many foreign institutions， including state-level natural history museums， and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. In the future， it will serve as a platform for public services and open its sample and data resources to various parties in accordance with relevant rules.

As far as human DNA is concerned， NGBC mainly preserves samples of blood and tissues as well as cells and urine， and provides sample support for the prospective study of serious diseases， laying a solid foundation for diagnosis， prediction and personalized medical services.

In terms of non-human resources， the bank primarily stores tissues and cells of rare animals of great economic value. It also preserves plant， marine and microbial resources in an effort to collect all information that could be valuable for future research.

“We want to build the worlds largest database for biological information—like a Google for life health data，” declared Mei Yonghong， director of the NGBC.