Table 4.

Sample types, sample volumes, purpose of samples and long-term storage conditions for samples collected annually during the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study.

sample type	volume collected	purpose	storage conditions
for bio-bank storage
whole blood—year 1 only	10 ml	extracted to DNA for bio-bank storage	−80°C
whole blood—all other years	10 ml	bio-bank storage of 10 × 1 ml whole blood aliquots	−80°C
serum	10 ml	bio-bank storage of 10 × 1 ml serum aliquots	−196°C
urine	5 ml	bio-bank storage of 5 × 1 ml urine aliquots	−80°C
hair	¼′ diameter, clipped	bio-bank storage of hair trimmings in one vial	−80°C
nails	5–10 nail trimmings	bio-bank storage of nail trimmings in one vial	−80°C
faeces	1 g	bio-bank storage of faeces in one vial	−80°C
tissues	<1 g	bio-bank storage of tissues in RNAlater	−80°C
for laboratory use
whole blood	3 ml	CBC
serum	3 ml	chemistry profile, Total T4, heartworm antigen
urine	5 ml	urinalysis
faeces	1 g	faecal analysis for ova and parasites
tissues	varies	histopathology analysis