Resource Project: Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center

OVERALL COMPONENT - PROJECT SUMMARY The Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center (AGSC) at the University of Kentucky (UK) is the only federally funded resource center that distributes laboratory axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum), a salamander that provides living materials in support of biomedical research nationally and internationally. Most notably, axolotls are unique among vertebrates in being able to regenerate numerous tissues and body parts, including limbs and brain. Since 2020, 31 different axolotl-associated projects have been awarded by NIH with support coming from multiple institutes (NICHD, NHLBI, NIDDK, NIGMS, NINDS, OD, NEI, and NCI). NIH support is catalyzing advances in biomedical research through its support of the axolotl and the AGSC, increasing the likelihood that investigators will use axolotl models in the future. During the 2025-2030 funding period, the AGSC will continue to generate and import high quality, axolotl stocks and innovate new husbandry methods, services, and protocols. AGSC operations will be made more efficient under a new data management plan that will enable multiple types of data to be recorded and retrieved electronically and remotely. A new website will be created to provide curated information about AGSC stocks, protocols for standardized husbandry procedures, protocols for pathogen monitoring, developmental and life history information to aid experimental planning, execution, and reporting, protocols for laboratory educational activities, and information to identify the best axolotl models for human disease. Web content will be redundantly linked to facilitate searching within the website, and externally linked to outside gene orthology, gene ontology, disease, animal model, and literature databases. The AGSC website will use surveys to obtain customer feedback about AGSC products, and services, and a discussion forum will facilitate community sharing of knowledge and data. Through these mechanisms, the new website will increase the visibility of axolotl stocks and establish the AGSC as a critical source of information for advancing axolotl research and educational efforts. In regards to outreach, the AGSC will offer a formal workshop to provide training in axolotl husbandry and embryo microinjection at UK, and AGSC staff will develop and present educational activities in local K-12 schools. In regards to applied research, 16S rRNA sequencing will be performed to increase breadth of pathogen monitoring and generate baseline microbial data in support of microbiome research, both of which will better ensure the health and reproducibility of AGSC axolotl lines. Finally, an axolotl disease manual will be developed to provide a reference that axolotl labs can use to monitor pathogens and diagnose common axolotl diseases. The manual will include protocols, assays, and treatments curated from the literature and developed in house. Overall, the project will increase the AGSCs impact in biomedical research and education, ensuring the distribution and long-term sustainability of axolotl resources to NIH-funded investigators.