To the Tetrahymena community:

 We are pleased to announce that we are now a major step closer to a fully functional
Tetrahymena Stock Center. Information about the Stock Center is available from a website  (http://
www.ciliate.org/stockcenter/stockcenter.shtml ) hosted by TGD  (http://www.ciliate.org).  You can
access the Stock Center website by typing in its full url or by going to the TGD home page and
clicking on  the Stock Center hyperlink, located in the table of contents on the left hand side of the
page.  Currently the Stock Center website is comprised of one central page displaying contact
information for the Stock Center, a hyperlink to information on ordering and submitting stocks, a
hyperlink to a glossary of terms used to describe Tetrahymena strains, and a preliminary list of
commonly requested strains available for ordering.  Eventually, as the Stock Center receives more
strains and the preliminary list is expanded, there will be search capabilities to find your strain of
interest.  Additional information is provided below.

Ordering Strains : http://www.ciliate.org/stockcenter/stockcenterforms.shtml
 The strain request form currently permits direct ordering from a core group of commonly
requested strains representing a variety of different genetic types. This preliminary list of available
strains will be updated as we continue transferring strains into the Stock Center freezers.
Ultimately the list shown on the main page will disappear and be replaced by a link to the
complete database of available stocks. In the meantime, we will of course continue to provide
other strains from our freezers whenever possible.
 Please take a moment to look at the request form. We welcome any feedback on the Adobe
Acrobat based ordering form, which is semi-automated, and, we hope, fairly intuitive to use. All
forms on the site require Adobe Acrobat 7 or later, which is available free of charge by following
the link provided. Note that in addition to the name of the person requesting the cells, we also ask
for the PI of the lab. This will allow us to set up a single account for each lab rather than each
individual user. Also note that the prices listed are to help recoup some of the cost of running the
Center, but are NOT meant to prevent anyone from obtaining needed strains. If funding is a
problem, contact us and we will work something out.

Submitting Strains :   http://www.ciliate.org/stockcenter/stockcenterforms.shtml
 For the moment, we are limiting submissions to labs with the most dire need. We are sending
individual emails to those labs which have previously been determined as high priority need, but if
you think you belong in that category and do not hear from us, please contact us to discuss the
situation. The basic process for submission of strains will be the same for all. Individual
submission forms, available on the website, will be filled out for each strain prior to submission to
the Stock Center. Details regarding the physical transfer of strains will be provided to the
depositor as soon as the Stock Center has agreed to accept the strains. As stocks come in and are
secured in the Stock Center freezers, they will be listed in the database and made publicly
available. Any new information regarding relevant genes will be added to the Glossary, and any
potential links to other TGD information will be determined. Strains requiring a Material Transfer
Agreement (MTA) prior to distribution can be indicated on the submission forms. MTA requiring
strains will be flagged in the database, and a link to the appropriate University contact person for
MTA submission will be provided. Such strains will only be released following Stock Center
notification of receipt of a completed MTA by the relevant institution. Again we welcome any
feedback on the submission form, particularly with regard to the information requested for each
strain.
 As indicated on the second page of the submission form, we are asking that those donating
strains provide the following information:

Strain name: This should be short and as informative as possible. Past convention has used initials
to indicate place of origin for inbred laboratory strains followed by a unique number for each
strain, e.g. CU428; IA 222; SB3515. Wild type strains have generally been named by the strain
variant followed by a number e.g. B2086. If a strain has been mentioned in a publication by a
specific designation, please list the name used in the publication.

Genetic information: This should include all that is known about the mic genotype, mac genotype,
mac phenotype, and mating type. This information should be provided using the currently
accepted nomenclature described in “Genetic nomenclature rules for Tetrahymena thermophila” in
Methods Cell Biol. 2000;62:561-3  and in “Proposed genetic nomenclature rules for Tetrahymena
thermophila, Paramecium primaurelia and Paramecium tetraurelia. The Seventh International
Meeting on Ciliate Molecular Biology Genetics Nomenclature” Genetics. 1998 May;149(1):459-62.

Origin: Any available information about the origin of a strain that will facilitate an understanding
of its genetic make-up, e.g. B/C3 hybrid derived from a cross of CU427 and C3 628; wild type F
strain.

Relevant publications: Publications in which this strain plays a primary role. We would like to be
able to cross-reference the curation being done at TGD.

Comments: There will be a Comments field associated with each strain in the database. Brief
relevant information that does not fit in any of the listed categories should go here. Please be
clear, brief, and to the point.

Materials Transfer agreement: Is an MTA necessary before this strain is sent out? If so, you must
indicate that fact and provide the information for contacting the appropriate person at your
university. The affected strains will not be released until the Stock Center has been notified that an
MTA is received.



Glossary: http://www.ciliate.org/stockcenter/stockglossary.shtml
 This is currently a simple list of some of the mutations associated with past strains, including
the 20 strains initially available over the website. We have attempted to adhere to the current
nomenclature rules while at the same time utilizing symbols as close to the  original mutant
designations as possible. If we have inadvertently duplicated the name of your favorite gene, or
erred in some other way, please let us know and we will attempt to remedy the situation.  The
current list is in no way meant to be complete and is designed only as a quick and simple aid in
identifying strains of potential interest. The list will be updated as more strains are incorporated
into the Stock Center freezers and database. For those who desire more information about the
relevant genes associated with any strain, we will eventually link the glossary to a more
comprehensive table. The final content of this more comprehensive table is fluid at this point and
will ultimately depend on the types of information provided to us by those submitting strains to
the Stock Center. Ultimately, we also hope to provide links to any relevant information stored on
other TGD pages.
 Visit our fledgling website and let us know what you think. As we develop this website, we
welcome your input with regard to future content. Although its primary purpose is to provide an
easily accessible database of available strains, and to simplify the acquisition and distribution of
stocks, we are interested in what other pages you might like to see included on this site. We also
want to link the Stock Center site to other Tetrahymena and ciliate sites, and are in the process of
compiling a list of potential sites of interest. Please send us any links you think should be
included. Note that the Tetrahymena Stock Center now has its own email address:
[log in to unmask] . Please use this address for any correspondence regarding
the Stock Center.

 Finally, please use the Stock Center for all of your strain needs. Funding depends on
continued use by the community.



    Sincerely,

       Ted Clark

    Donna Cassidy-Hanley