GMbC Collection
Promoting Understanding of the Human Microbiome and Inclusive Science
OpenBiome is home to the Global Microbiome Conservancy (GMbC), a nonprofit program that grew out of an MIT laboratory that aims to represent and share the global diversity of the human microbiome.
The GMbC collection contains samples provided by more than 1,200 individuals from over 30 previously underrepresented communities around the world. From these samples, the GMbC program has prepared an initial Starter Kit that contains 48 anaerobic bacterial seed stocks for use in functional and mechanistic research into the link between the microbiome and human health.
GMbC program biobanking is performed in accordance with international regulations including the Convention on Biological Diversity and Nagoya Protocol, and overseen by the program's Science and Ethics Advisory Board. As part of our commitment to equitable collaborations, the GMbC program works to grow research capacity, as needed, of our scientific collaborators in low- and middle-income countries, and implement benefit sharing programs for communities providing microbiome samples.
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GMbC Starter Kit | GMbC Starter kits are prepared by the Global Microbiome Conservancy (GMbC) program at OpenBiome as part of our nonprofit mission to advance understanding of the human microbiome and promote inclusive science. Each kit contains 48 anaerobic bacterial seeds stocks derived from stool samples donated by diverse, highly underrepresented communities around the world that reflect both rural and urban lifestyles and diets. |