National BioResource Project

The purpose of this project is to collect, preserve, and provide bioresources (such as animals, plants) that are basic materials for life sciences research, and to upgrade the bioresources responding to the demands of the present age by adding higher values through developing preservation technology, genome analysis, and others. In addition, reinforcement of information center function to provide information of whereabouts, and others is included.

FY 2007-2011

From the view point of comprehensive promotion of life sciences, in order to establish a system by which to facilitate the systematic collection, preservation, and provision of the biogenetic resources (bioresources) which are strategically important for the nation out of bioresources such as experimental animals and plants, stem cells such as ES cells, and genetic data from various life forms, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology implemented "the National BioResource Project (NBRP)" from FY 2002 to FY 2006.

In the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan, in order to promote establishing life sciences infrastructure being the highest level in the world, the Government aims to holding and securing bioresources of the fields where our nation can have the priority, based on the trends in research and development, and scientific evaluation toward the quality and quantity of the bioresources.

Therefore, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will implement the new National BioResource Project from FY 2007 to FY 2011 with goals of research and development to strategically establish bioresources (strains, populations, tissues, cells, genetic materials, and their information of animals, plants, and microorganisms as materials for research and development,) being the highest level in the world by 2010, and to utilize them.

By organizing a life science infrastructure which our nation can boast to the world, advancements will be made to research unique to our nation and to the securing of international initiative.

The National BioResource Project will be implemented, so that the collection, preservation, and provision of the bioresourcesand development of relating technologies that meet the above purposes can be performed, by establishing (1) Core facility upgrading program, (2) genome information upgrading program, (3) fundamental technologies upgrading program, and (4)information center upgrading program and with collaboration among these programs.

The core facilities, where collection, preservation, and provision of organism species that become the basic infrastructure of life sciences research and may be the our nation original excellent bioresources are performed, will be upgraded.

Making quality and added values higher and reinforcing uniqueness and leadership of Japanese bioresources by upgrading and expanding strain information and characteristics information, genetic information such as genome sequences or cDNA, and genome resources including genome libraries regarding to bioresources that NBRP collects, preserves, and provides.

Development of technologies relating to collection, proliferation, quality management, preservation, provision, and others of bioresources being the subject of the core facilities upgrading program is conducted.

Construction of databases of whereabouts information, genetic information, and others which will be upgraded at the core facilities, and public relations of the NBRP through its home page is upgraded.

In addition to establishment of system that conducts systematically collection, preservation, and provision with added new organism species, reinforcement of functions of the information center, improvement of added values of bioresources through developing fundamental technologies and genome analysis are aimed at, and promotion toward the strategic goal, that is, "to make bioresources that the nation must upgrade with priority the highest level in the world by 2010" is performed.