- Procedure for Deposition/Donation
- Plant Protection Act
- PDF documents
- DEPOSITION DATA SHEET (Form M-8)
- MTA (Form M-2E/M-9)
- Shipment
- Notification of JCM accession number(s)
- Certificate of Deposition/Donation and availability of a microorganism(s)
| Category | No. | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procedure for Deposition/Donation | 1-1 | Would you clarify the difference between Deposition and Donation? | "Deposition" does not include the transfer of intellectual property rights, and the intellectual property rights of the deposited resources are retained by the depositor/developer. The conditions of use set at the time of deposit are imposed on the recipients as they are. For "Donation", the resources and the intellectual property rights of the resources will be transferred to our center. However, Donors are free to use their donated resources after donation. In the case of Donation, conditions for use other than intellectual property rights can be added, such as "Acknowledgment is required to publish research results." We recommend "Donation" when you leave public office due to retirement or when it is difficult to answer various questions and requests from users. Please consider Donation along with the deposition. |
| Procedure for Deposition/Donation | 1-2 | What is the cost of Deposition/Donation of microorganism(s) | As a general rule, there is no cost burden to the Depositor/Donor, except for the cost of shipping the culture(s). |
| Procedure for Deposition/Donation | 1-3 | Could you check whether the documents are filled out correctly or not in advance? | Yes, we can do this. Please email PDF documents to inquiry.jcm@riken.jp |
| Procedure for Deposition/Donation | 1-4 | When can we send microorganism(s) to JCM? | Please send microorganism(s) after you receive a fully-signed copy of the executed MTA in PDF and not before. |
| Procedure for Deposition/Donation | 1-5 | What is the normal lead time from shipping microorganism(s) until receiving notification of the JCM accession number(s) for the Deposition/Donation? | It depends on the kind and condition (purity and freshness) of microorganism(s) received. It normally takes one to three months to complete checking and preserving microorganism(s). |
| Procedure for Deposition/Donation | 1-6 | What can I do to shorten the deposition process in order to receive the JCM accession number as early as possible? | We confirm viability and authenticity after we receive strain(s), and it normally takes about one to three months if nothing goes wrong. However, if you can ship us fresh and pure (not contaminated) strain(s), this will help to minimize delays in the process. |
| Plant Protection Act | 2-1 | How do I prepare an import permit application form? | JCM fill out an application form for the import permit called the Yellow-Tag based on the input from the depositor and submit it to MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) on behalf of the Depositor. We ask that you assist this process by providing necessary information (answering five questions). |
| Plant Protection Act | 2-2 | What kind of additional information do we need to provide? | Please find the five questions below? Questions JCM ask are: Q1. How many containers of the strain(s) and what kind of containers are you going to send? Q2. Out of the two options available, 1) EMS or 2) the regular postage service, which shipping method will you choose to send the strain(s)? (No other shipping methods are available). Q3. What is the name of the nearest international airport from your city? Q4. Can you ship the permitted strain(s) to the Plant Protection Station within 6 months from date the permit is issued? Q5. Can we send an import permit (Yellow-Tags) to the address you provided in the Deposition Data Sheet (Form M-8)? |
| Plant Protection Act | 2-3 | When I answered the questions, I requested to ship my strain by EMS, but when I tried to ship it, the post office did not allow the microorganisms to be shipped. Can I ship my strain by other shipping methods? | Unfortunately, you cannot change the shipping method once the permit is issued. Each Yellow-Tag (import permit) has the permit number and the receiver's address printed on it, and the receiver's address is different for each shipping method. |
| Plant Protection Act | 2-4 | Can I ship my strain by FedEx or DHL? | Unfortunately, we do not allow the use of private courier services for sending Depositions/Donations. Therefore, we ask you to select one of two shipping methods, 1) EMS or 2) a regular postal air parcel service, when we ask Depositor(s) for additional information. |
| Plant Protection Act | 2-5 | I am not able to ship my strain for it to arrive in Japan before the permit expires. Can you extend the expiration date? | In this case, we have to return the current permit to MAFF and apply for a new permit. |
| Plant Protection Act | 2-6 | I have two importable strains and three import-prohibited strains to deposit. Can I ship those five strains together after I receive the import permit "Yellow-Tags"? | Unfortunately, you cannot. Importable strains and import-prohibited strains have to be shipped separately. This is because the two importable strains are to be shipped to JCM while the three import-prohibited strains are to be shipped to the Yokohama Plant Protection Station (the address printed on the permit). |
| PDF documents | 3-1 | What kind of documents should we prepare prior to depositing microorganism(s)? | Please fill out 1) DEPOSITION DATA SHEET (Form M-8-P for Bacteria and Archaea or Form M-8-F for Filamentous fungi and Yeast) and 2) MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT (Form M-9 for Deposition or Form M-2E for Donation). |
| PDF documents | 3-2 | How can we resize the text in order for it to fit in the limited space? | Opening the file from Adobe®Acrobat Reader®, allow automatic font size adjustment in order to fit the text within the space provided. |
| DEPOSITION DATA SHEET | 4-1 | Is it possible to deposit unidentified strains or new species, etc. whose descriptions have not yet been published and whose scientific name have not yet been determined? | Yes, it is possible. In such cases, please enter a description such as "Unidentified bacterium." in the column for scientific name on the Deposition Data Sheet (Form M-8). Please provide information including the strain designation, isolation data, country of origin, etc. There are places for this information to be entered on the Deposition Data Sheet (Form M-8). |
| DEPOSITION DATA SHEET | 4-2 | I would like the depositing strain to be released to the public after the paper that I am currently preparing has been published. How should I request this? | Please inform us of your request using the DEPOSITION DATA SHEET (item 16, for bacteria and archaea; item 18, for yeasts and filamentous fungi). Note that the strain will be made accessible to the public at the discretion of the JCM five years after the deposition date. |
| DEPOSITION DATA SHEET | 4-3 | What should I do if the accession number of the nucleotide sequence of the rRNA gene (item 12, for bacteria and archaea; item 14, for yeasts and filamentous fungi) is not disclosed in the database? | Please attach the sequence text data of rRNA, ITS, LSU etc. to the deposit receptionist by attaching it to an email. |
| MTA (Form M-2E/M-9) | 5-1 | I am a PhD student. Can I deposit new species at JCM? | As we execute the MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT between organizations, we do not accept students as depositors. |
| MTA (Form M-2E/M-9) | 5-2 | Do I need to prepare an MTA (MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT) for each strain? | No, you can list more than one strain in the same MTA as long as 1) they are deposited under the same "Origin of the Biological Resource" and 2) under the same "terms and conditions". In that case, we recommend you to fill out just strain names/numbers. |
| MTA (Form M-2E/M-9) | 5-3 | I am planning to apply for citation of a new name in the Validation List of IJSEM. What kind of terms and conditions for distributions should I choose? | The policy of IJSEM (the international Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology) is that authors who wish to propose a new species, a new subspecies or a new combination in IJSEM or wish to apply for a citation of a new name in the Validation List of IJSEM are required to prove deposition of the type strain in culture collections and make it available to the public WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS. |
| MTA (Form M-2E/M-9) | 5-4 | I was asked by IJSEM to remove all conditions of use and provide a new certificate of deposition. How do I request JCM to remove all restrictions over the use of the deposited strain? | Please request us to change the terms and conditions by submitting "DATA UPDATE SHEET for MTA". |
| MTA (Form M-2E/M-9) | 5-5 | I would like to establish conditions that restrict use to non-commercial use. How should I describe the conditions? | Since it is necessary to establish criteria that define non-commercial use, please refer to the following examples. Example 1) The availability of the BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE is limited to RECIPIENTS of not-for-profit organizations for not-for-profit research. Example 2) For use of the BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE by a for-profit research, the RECIPIENT must reach an agreement on the terms and conditions of use with the DEPOSITOR and must obtain prior written consent from the DEPOSITOR. |
| MTA (Form M-2E/M-9) | 5-6 | I am currently preparing a manuscript on a strain that I am planning to deposit in the RIKEN BRC-JCM. I would like to make citation of the paper a condition of deposition/donation. How should I state this on the MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT. | Please include a statement to that effect for Item 7 of the MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT along with information regarding the paper (author name(s), title, etc.). The MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT will be concluded based on that information. Upon publication of the paper, please send us a reprint or information regarding the paper (author name(s), title, journal name, volume, pages, publication year) as soon as possible. This information will be used to revise the MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT and will be published on the website as a condition for ordering. Please be aware that the strain in question will be made available upon publication of the paper, but the deposition conditions will not be applied until the paper reprint or information is provided by the depositor. |
| MTA (Form M-2E/M-9) | 5-7 | What kind of job title is required for the Authorized Representative Depositor? | In accordance with the policy of RIKEN BRC, we request that a Dean, Director, President or Director of Intellectual Property Department be chosen as the Authorized Representative Depositor. |
| Shipment | 6-1 | How should we pack microorganisms? | You can reduce the risk of damage during transportation by wrapping the material in a plastic bag wrapped in cushioning material and putting it in a secure cardboard box. |
| Shipment | 6-2 | What is the shipping address for the microorganism(s)? | We will inform you of the curator in charge of the strain(s) when we send an e-mail to confirm the completion of the MTA. The delivery address is; Curator in charge of Microbe Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center 3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0074, Japan |
| Notification of JCM accession number(s) | 7-1 | How are Depositors/Donors notified of the JCM accession number(s)? | Deposited or donated microbial strains will be registered in JCM and assigned a JCM number after the growth, purity, properties, gene sequence, etc. have been confirmed. We will send you a JCM number notification PDF file by email. |
| Certificate of Deposition/Donation and availability of a microorganism(s) | 8-1 | When can I expect to receive a Certificate of Deposition/Donation or Availability? | For a new species, etc. to be published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (IJSEM) or to submit a request for publication of a new species name in the IJSEM Validation List, you must have certification that proves the strain has been deposited in culture collections in at least two different countries and that the strains are available to the public. Please submit an application if you require such certification. A certificate will be issued after the strain has been examined for viability and purity, and the authenticity is confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We ask for your understanding and cooperation as some time it may be required between receipt of a request for certification and issuance of the certificate in order to perform this examination. |
