Exploring pathways toward open-hardware ecosystems to safeguard genetic resources for biomedical research communities using aquatic model species.

Development of reliable germplasm repositories is critical for preservation of genetic resources of aquatic species, which are widely utilized to support biomedical innovation by providing a foundational source for naturally occurring variation and development of new variants through genetic manipulations. A significant barrier in repository development is the lack of cryopreservation capability and reproducibility across the research community, posing great risks of losing advances developed from billions of dollars of research investment. The emergence of open scientific hardware has fueled a new movement across biomedical research communities. With the increasing accessibility of consumer-level fabrication technologies, such as three-dimensional printers, open hardware devices can be custom designed, and design files distributed to community members for enhancing rigor, reproducibility, and standardization. The overall goal of this review is to explore pathways to create open-hardware ecosystems among the communities using aquatic model resources for biomedical research. To gain feedback and insights from community members, an interactive workshop focusing on open-hardware applications in germplasm repository development was held at the 2022 Aquatic Models for Human Disease Conference, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This work integrates conceptual strategies with practical insights derived from workshop interactions using examples of germplasm repository development. These insights can be generalized for establishment of open-hardware ecosystems for a broad biomedical research community. The specific objectives were to: (1) introduce an open-hardware ecosystem concept to support biomedical research; (2) explore pathways toward open-hardware ecosystems through four major areas, and (3) identify opportunities and future directions.

Untangling the Gordian Knot of Aplysia sea hare egg masses: An integrated open-hardware system for standardized egg strand sizing and packaging for cryopreservation research and application.

The California sea hare (Aplysia californica) provides a powerful biomedical model system for studying aspects of neurological development and damage, behavior, aging, and hypoxia. Aplysia encapsulate their zygotes within strands that result in tangled egg masses that greatly complicate culture and experimentation. The historical and current importance of Aplysia for biomedical research and the mounting climate crisis necessitates protection of Aplysia genetic resources. The goal of this work was to prototype open-hardware sizing, processing, and packaging devices for A. californica early life stages suitable for integration into a cryopreservation pathway. The Strand Centi-Sizer was a low-cost, fused filament fabrication 3-D printable device that increased experiment preparation efficiency and standardized the cutting of egg strands customizable to user needs. A downstream system of 3-D printed devices was also prototyped to address inefficiencies in handling of egg strand sections for processing and packaging into existing cryopreservation straw platforms. Time studies were conducted comparing manual methods (i.e., no specialized equipment) with open hardware to demonstrate utility of the devices and to encourage community members to design and prototype new devices to address recurrent and novel problems in other aquatic animals that produce egg strands. Improvements in design could further increase efficiency, standardization, and reproducibility, and extend the application of these devices to other research communities, such as shrimp or salamander spermatophores, sea anemone body part (e.g., pedal lacerate) cryopreservation, or study areas such as vitrification.