The Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC) is supported by the National Institutes of Health - Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (NIH-ORIP) and housed at the University of Minnesota. Our primary aim is to acquire, curate, and maintain Caenorhabditis strains and distribute them upon request to researchers throughout the world. There are now nearly 20,000 different strains in the collection, including more than two thousand whole-genome sequenced strains obtained from the Million Mutation Project and other sources. We strive to have at least one allele of every published gene and all chromosome rearrangements, duplications and deficiencies. Selected multiple-mutant stocks and transgenic strains are also available, such as strains that express various fluorescent protein reporter fusions. The CGC has initiated a small research component aimed at enhancing the genetic tool kit available to C. elegans researchers, including labeling balancer chromosomes with fluorescent markers (some of which are now available). The CGC also distributes stocks of nematode species closely related to C. elegans and bacterial strains necessary for nematode growth. A searchable list of strains, including information about CGC stocks, is accessible through the CGC website (http://cbs.umn.edu/cgc/home) and WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org). Requests for strains should be made on-line through our website. Follow us on Twitter @cgc_worms for updates on new strains and other news.
As mandated by NIH-ORIP, a small yearly user fee and charge per strain is assessed with each order. The CGC strongly encourages use of credit cards for payments. We provide yearly reports to the NIH with statistics that reflect our services to the worm community. A key tracked parameter is the number of published papers that acknowledge the CGC for providing strains. Please remember to acknowledge the CGC in your publications!.