Table 1.

Tissue standards ( italicized ) for vertebrate genomics corresponding to storage and quality of target materials (bolded)

	Four-star	Three-star	Two-star	One-star
DNA quantity
1 mg	X	X
> 700 μg			X
≤ 700 μg a				X
Target materials
Cell lines/tissue culture	X
RNA	X	X
DNA	X	X	X	X b
Specimen typec
Live/freshly euthanized	X d	X
Salvaged			X	X
Voucher			X	X
Storage
RNAlater®	X
DNAgard/DNAstable®	X
≤ −130°C	X
≥ −80°C		X
≥ −20°C			X
Ethanol				X

^aSmaller quantities (30 to 100 μg) from multiple individuals of the same species will support light-coverage sequencing for single-nucleotide polymorphism discovery.

^bHigh-quality or slightly degraded DNA of small quantities will not likely be sufficient for whole-genome sequencing; these samples may supplement whole-genome sequencing efforts of higher-quality samples.

^cStandards will vary depending on tissue selection and natural history of the specimen.

^dFour-star samples should also include reference species for aligning de novo sequences of closely related species (see text for more details).