Integrated Collection and Publication of Sample Metadata in JAMSTEC: A System Maximizing Sample Values and Assisting in Sample Management

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) has collected a lot of samples (e.g., organisms, rocks, sediment cores) from the deep sea, seafloors and other extreme environments. These samples are difficult to collect again by JAMSTEC and other institutions because of their remoteness, so we thought it important to make them available to as many people as possible for a variety of purposes. JAMSTEC established the “Basic Policies on the Handling of Data and Samples” in 2007, and its data management office (DMO) has operated a centralized management and publication of metadata for almost all samples collected during research cruises (Tsuboi et al. 2014). While researchers who collected samples retain priority rights of use, publishing the metadata opens the door for third parties to apply for sample usage. To properly manage and publish those metadata of the samples, DMO has constructed and operates databases, including the JAMSTEC Sample Database for sample management and the DARWIN database for the publication of cruise data and sample metadata. Some biological sample metadata is also shared with JAMSTEC’s biogeographic database (BISMaL), and global databases such as Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (Iseto et al. 2019; Fig. 1). Traditionally, researchers have deposited selected samples in museums or resource centers and made that information public through literature or via online databases. However, the samples accessible through these routes represent only a small portion of the total samples collected by researchers. What JAMSTEC does is different from this, in that JAMSTEC publishes metadata of most collected samples (Fig. 2). JAMSTEC manages sample metadata not only to respond to sample requests from third parties, but also for its own benefits. The sample management assists JAMSTEC’s research in collaborative opportunities, sample inheritances, and research compliance. Most notably, among recent global regulations, proper sample management has become essential to complying with diverse treaties and laws such as Security Export Control and Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. Now that we have established this system, we are moving to the next stage, where each JAMSTEC researcher can register and update their own sample metadata, and control public settings of the sample metadata themselves on the database without relying heavily on DMO. We hope that the JAMSTEC initiative will become a revitalizing model for sample-based research.