Requesting bacteria samples from Journals? - (Jul/11/2008 )
Hi, is it true that as a researcher, I have a right to request for samples of specific bacteria strains from published journals? If so, is there a certain protocol/procedure to follow? How would I go about these requests?
Yes, you have a right. NOT enforceable by law, though. Kind of honour system.
First just request the strains. If there is a problem, and you sense unwillingness rather than a genuine reason, what you can do is to lodge a complain to the journal that published the article, they can push the authors.
But in any case, if they don't want to share the strains, they will find a legitimate sounding excuse!
..
Just email them requesting for xyz-strain? Do I have to tell them what I am using it for, where/who I work for, etc? Is there any information that I have to share on my part? Also, do I have to send payment for mailing fees?
amazing!! where do you clowns get this silliness??
Journals do NOT offer bacterial cultures and in fact possess NO cultures. It's hard to imagine that anyone actually involved in science thinks authors actually submit their cultures along with manuscripts and publishers maintain stocks. Journals deal with words not biological cultures.
Authors are responsible to describe experiments sufficiently that they can be reproduced and that means the specific isolates used BUT you have no "rights" to their cultures. Often cultures from collections such as the ATCC are used or the authors deposit their cultures with such collections. Qualified folks can buy these from the type collection. You can also request of the authors cultures of their test microorganisms but they have no obligation to respond and journals will not get involved at any time in such requests. Considering the hassle of sending cultures to the casual requester, I think you'll likely not get a positive response unless you engage in some kind of collaboration.
Journals do NOT offer bacterial cultures and in fact possess NO cultures. It's hard to imagine that anyone actually involved in science thinks authors actually submit their cultures along with manuscripts and publishers maintain stocks. Journals deal with words not biological cultures.
Authors are responsible to describe experiments sufficiently that they can be reproduced and that means the specific isolates used BUT you have no "rights" to their cultures. Often cultures from collections such as the ATCC are used or the authors deposit their cultures with such collections. Qualified folks can buy these from the type collection. You can also request of the authors cultures of their test microorganisms but they have no obligation to respond and journals will not get involved at any time in such requests. Considering the hassle of sending cultures to the casual requester, I think you'll likely not get a positive response unless you engage in some kind of collaboration.
althoug I would have used a less rude wording, I have to agree with Jorge1907. Authors should provide you samples of their investigated bacterial/fungal strains. But most time these get deposited in culture collection where you can buy them for good money....
But it is always worth a try to ask them for a sample and as said before a collaboration or an "exchange offer" of cultures opens doors. But having in mind the attenuation of fungi/bacteria in culture, some authors will refuse to send you samples as there has been more than one paper retracted because of the fail to reproduce data....
To your point, I'll narrow my criticism to cell counter. Whether his intent was to jerk manki around, to subordinate lack of knowledge to ego or some other rationale for providing misinformation, I find reprehensible providing a blatant falsehood.
1. Some labs will share freely with academic labs, but not with biotech companies or big pharma. You may need to sign a form stating that you will not share the sample with any other labs.
2. If you are asking for a plasmid, chances are about 1 in 4 that there will be errors on the plasmid map. Confirm the identity of any plasmid by restriction mapping and/or PCR before spending a lot of time working on it. Usually, only the map is wrong, but sometimes you may be sent the wrong sample.
3. And some labs may be so busy (or their freezer stocks so disorganized) that your request gets buried. It doesn't hurt to ask again if too much time goes by.
Hi,
I think strictly speaking if you publish in a journal most will strongly encourage you to give materials to the wider academic community i.e. to supply any bacterial strains, plasmids and in the old days even proteins and chemicals, this is usually part of the smallprint,
http://www.biochemj.org/bj/bji2a.htm#Propagatable
When requesting materials simply write to the corresponding author saying who you are and who your boss is, what you would like the materials for, you may have to sign a a consent form promising only to use said materials for research and not to give the materials to third parties. I have received plamids and bacterial strains this way, even if they are publicly available, it is always worth getting things for free! Also to keep in the authors good books if you get any interesting results I would inform them, maybe they would like to collaborate and so on, and dont forget to acknowledge there "Gift" in any publications and to cite there work, bumps up their citations.
cheers
mike
Jorge, we are getting a little too cool here.
If you read my post carefully, I was referring to the author. Agreed that a novice may mis-construe as if I am talking about the journal, but your job would have been to clarify it further, not jumping the wagon with all rudeness you can muster.
Get a coat.
A careful reading of your post shows you have no experience in this matter or intentionally misled manki.
The little bit of obscure boiler plate not withstanding, folks rarely respond to such casual requests and journals would not attempt consider intervention.
Penny wise and pound foolish as well - if you can get it from a culture collection - do it. Researchers are not in the business of sending cultures and, IF they were to respond, they may send the wrong one, in an improper manner so it does not survive or leaks, as a mixed culture, etc. If you can, get the culture from a source like ATCC whose business is validated to address all these issues. This is not only a validated source for your work - it also will be the source of cultures for those who attempt to reproduce your work.