The National Museum of Natural History is part of The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and maintains scientific collections and among its tasks is to maintain and house the scientific collections that have generated and generate research in the area of natural resources.

The tissue and DNA collection (MNCN) began its activity in 2000. Today it includes 52.100 specimens in its catalogue with over 80.000 samples already classified and available to the scientific community. Approximately 250.000 samples more are also deposited and are currently in the process of being classified. The popularity of this collection is growing and the number of users requiring tissues or extracted DNA is steadily increasing. Until the present 10.500 samples have been lent to national and international researches, all of them with the required permits as they belong to species included in annexes of CITES. The catalogue number of the samples in our collection is a voucher number, which appears in Genebank where currently more of 7.000 sequences belonging to our frozen samples, can be localized. More than 12.000 records have been uploaded in the GBIF data base during last years.

Currently the collection or the molecular samples have 3 preservation methods, frozen at 80 degrees, liquid preserved (in ethanol or DMSO buffer) and dried material (non-invasive samples) in silica or freeze dried material.

Isabel Rey Fraile, Madrid (Spain) is biologist specializing in zoology. Working at the National Museum of Natural Sciences since 1988, she was alternating positions as Assistant Collection Manager (Mammals and molluscs) and as researcher of several projects of evolution, phylogeny and conservation genetics DNA-based; Expert both preservation of collections of natural history and molecular techniques had a major participation in the creation of the new collection of tissue and DNA both on organization of facilities as writing of standards protocols for the management and maintenance. Since 2002 is the Curator of the Collection of Tissue and DNA and head of Molecular Identification Lab of this collection.

Her research is focused on preservation of DNA and on methodology to obtain ancient DNA from classical specimens of Museum collections, small invertebrates and non invasive samples of living animals for studies of phylogeny, evolution, population genetics and genetic identification.

Currently she has more than 90 research papers, participation in 22 training courses of molecular techniques and 22 research projects (national and international); In collaboration with SYNTHESYS Project (Networking Activities E) prepared a common report of European Disaster Planning for “New Collections”.