We, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, regret to inform you that the seeds of a wild-derived strain of Arabidopsis thaliana Nossen (BRC resource number, pst99999; the lot number, F0S1) were those of a wrong strain.
In November 2017, a new distribution lot F0S1 of seed stock of the Nossen strain (pst99999) was produced from seeds believed to be pst99999 because the previous lot was running short. F0S1 had been sent to users since February 7, 2018 until May 15, 2019. On June 5, 2019, the simple sequence repeat marker analysis (SSRMA)* was performed to confirm the authenticity of a genetical modified strain of Nossen background, and F0S1 was used as a control. On July 5, 2019, it was unexpectedly found that the data of SSRMA of F0S1 were different for those of the original Nossen strain recorded in our catalogue. Therefore, seeds of the Nossen sub-strain, the other lots of pst99999 and other wild-derived strains were carefully examined. On July 31, 2019, it was concluded that there was an error during the production of the F0S1 seeds.
We have sent a notice to all past users of the F0S1 explaining this incident with our sincere apology and asking for stopping its use by August 14, 2019. All users reported back to us that there were no direct or serious damages on their research. We also offered the other Nossen sub-strain pst99998 as a replacement of the pst99999 F0S1 to the users. The pst99998 has been confirmed to be the authentic Nossen strain by SSRMA and can be sent whenever the user wishes.
To prevent recurrence of such incident, we are now making sure to conduct the SSRMA each time seeds are reproduced for distribution and to record the SSRMA result in a barcode system. We already put in practice a double check system with multiple workers to reduce chance of human errors for storing and taking out of seeds in/from a seed storage room. The barcode system shall be also used to manage the resources and the records of their SSRMA. We ask you for your understanding and continuous support.
If you have any question and concern on this matter, please feel free to contact us.
Contact Information
Experimental Plant Division / RIKEN BioResource Research Center
3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074, Japan
Phone: +81 29 836 9067
Fax: +81 29 836 9053
E-mail: plant.brc@riken.jp
* SSRMA: A method used to identify wild-derived strains of Arabidopsis thaliana by measuring the length of repetitive sequences (microsatellite) of several bases that exist in the genome. The lengths of microsatellites differ among the wild-derived strains, it is used for strain identification. Sixteen microsatellites have been selected, and their lengths can be accurately measured by a DNA sequencer. We have introduced SSRMA in FY2004 as a method for a quality control test of the wild-derived strains owned by RIKEN BRC.
