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A stock centre, in research, is a repository that collects, maintains and distributes living biological stocks (fly strains, seed lines, fish lines and similar) so that laboratories can obtain the same genetic material instead of rebuilding it. It is also called a biological resource centre or stock center. This page is about those research repositories, not retail stock or inventory businesses that share the name.
It is written for researchers, lab managers and research administrators who need to know which centre holds what, how ordering and depositing generally work, and how to acknowledge a centre in a paper. Facts about individual centres come from each centre’s own pages, read on 2026-11-07.
What a research stock centre is
A stock centre holds strains or lines of a model organism and supplies them to the research community. The Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center (BDSC) describes its role as to collect, maintain and distribute Drosophila melanogaster strains for research and teaching, and notes that it also runs a small research effort aimed at improving the usefulness of the stocks. Centres of this type sit in the repositories part of the data and materials lifecycle: they preserve and distribute physical resources, in the same way that data repositories preserve and distribute datasets.
Who runs the major centres and what they hold
The table compares three well-known centres, using only what each describes on its own site.
| Centre | Organism | Host or funding statement | Holdings described on its site | Donations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center (BDSC) | Fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster | Indiana University; acknowledgement text cites NIH grant P40OD018537 | Drosophila strains for research and teaching | Stock Acquisition Policy for donating stocks |
| Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) | Arabidopsis; also other Brassicas | The Ohio State University | Seed stocks, and education kits | Seed and other resources welcome; currently interested in characterized mutants, especially new CRISPR mutants; Stock Acquisition and De-acquisition Policy applies |
| Zebrafish International Resource Center (ZIRC) | Zebrafish | Eugene, Oregon; supported by an NIH grant | Fish lines, ESTs and cDNAs, antibodies, The Zebrafish Book, Paramecia starter cultures, pathology and health services | Guidelines for Submitting Fish; submissions covered by the Zebrafish License Agreement |
For the species behind these centres, see the Drosophila guide and the medaka guide. The model-organism databases that describe genes and strains, as distinct from the centres that ship stocks, are compared in WormBase vs FlyBase vs MGI vs ZFIN. The TAIR guide notes that TAIR stopped handling ABRC stock ordering in May 2019, which is a common source of confusion between the database and the centre.
How to find and order stocks
Each centre runs its own ordering route, so follow the centre’s instructions. The steps below describe what the three centres publish; none of them replaces the centre’s own ordering page.
- Identify the stock from a paper’s methods section, a database record or the centre’s catalogue.
- Use the centre’s own search or browse pages. ABRC offers Search, Search Accession and Catalog under its Stocks menu; ZIRC lists its fish lines on product pages.
- Read the centre’s ordering guidance before you order. BDSC publishes a How to Order page, an order form with predefined sets, and a page on paying for orders. ZIRC publishes Guidelines for Obtaining Fish.
- Check what account is needed. ABRC shows Log in and New Account options and a Make a Payment page; ZIRC uses product pages and a shopping cart.
- Check whether the stock carries a licence agreement. ZIRC submissions are covered by the Zebrafish License Agreement, and institutional agreements for transferred materials are explained in the material transfer agreement process guide.
- Keep the stock identifier from the order so it can be cited in your methods.
Depositing your own lines
Centres depend on donations from the community. ABRC states that it relies on donated resources, welcomes seed of Arabidopsis and all Brassicas as well as education kits, and points to its Stock Acquisition and De-acquisition Policy for suitability. It says it will, whenever possible, pay shipping for seed and kit donations, that donations will be released within 2-3 weeks unless the donor is notified, and that stocks may be archived if demand does not justify amplification. BDSC points donors to its Stock Acquisition Policy, and ZIRC to its Submit a Fish Line process under the Zebrafish License Agreement. Read the centre’s current policy before sending anything.
How to acknowledge and cite a stock centre
Centres set their own wording. BDSC’s acknowledgement text reads: “Stocks obtained from the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center (NIH P40OD018537) were used in this study.” BDSC also encourages citing stocks by Research Resource Identifier (RRID), shown near the top of each stock report page. ZIRC asks users to acknowledge the Zebrafish International Resource Center in all publications that use its materials or services, with details on its Acknowledgements page. For how RRIDs work, see the RRID dictionary entry and the guide to citing antibodies, model organisms and software with RRIDs.
Strengths and limits
- Strength: a shared source of the same stock supports reproducibility, because different laboratories work from one maintained line (editorial interpretation).
- Strength: centres publish their own deposit and acknowledgement rules, so obligations are written down.
- Limit: each centre covers one organism or group, so a project using several organisms uses several centres with different accounts, forms and terms.
- Limit: a centre may not hold every published line. ABRC states that stocks may be archived if demand is not enough to warrant amplification.
- Limit: agreements, fees and shipping terms are set by each centre and can change, so use the centre’s current pages.
Related resources on CASRAI
- WormBase vs FlyBase vs MGI vs ZFIN: the databases that describe the organisms these centres serve.
- Material transfer agreement: the agreement type that governs many transfers of biological material.
- IMPC guide: the mouse phenotyping consortium.
FAQ
What is a stock centre?
A research repository that collects, maintains and distributes living stocks of a model organism, such as BDSC does for Drosophila melanogaster strains.
Is a stock centre the same as a database like TAIR or FlyBase?
No. Databases describe genes, strains and literature; stock centres hold and ship the physical material. TAIR stopped handling ABRC ordering in May 2019, per the TAIR guide on this site.
How do I acknowledge BDSC?
Use the wording BDSC publishes: “Stocks obtained from the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center (NIH P40OD018537) were used in this study.” BDSC also encourages RRIDs.
Can I donate a line to a centre?
Yes, under each centre’s policy. ABRC currently says it is interested in characterized mutants, especially new CRISPR mutants; ZIRC submissions fall under the Zebrafish License Agreement.
Sources
- Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center, About: https://bdsc.indiana.edu/about/index.html (read 2026-11-07)
- Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center, Acknowledgement: https://bdsc.indiana.edu/about/acknowledge.html (read 2026-11-07)
- Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center home and Donate pages: https://abrc.osu.edu/ and https://abrc.osu.edu/stocks/donate (read 2026-11-07)
- Zebrafish International Resource Center, Guide: https://zebrafish.org/home/guide.php (read 2026-11-07)
