THE OCEAN GENOME LEGACY CENTER
A nonprofit marine research facility and genome bank dedicated to exploring and preserving the threatened biological diversity of the sea
THE OCEAN IS LOSING BIODIVERSITY.
WE’re TRYING TO CAPTURE IT BEFORE IT’S GONE.
“By volume, about 99 percent of the habitable portion of our planet is underwater,” says Dan Distel, who directs Northeastern’s Ocean Genome Legacy Center. To explore and preserve the wealth of information contained in the ocean, the center collects DNA samples—over 28,000 so far—and has made that collection available to researchers around the world.
RECENT NEWS AND IMPACT
The U.N. High Seas Treaty: Safeguarding Marine Biodiversity
Emily Stangel, Collections Assistant and Dan Distel, Director March 17, 2026 Andy Schmid, UN World Oceans Day 2023 photo competition / Andy Schmid The high seas once lacked environmental protections against overfishing, habitat destruction, and unregulated...
OGL joins the Earth BioGenome Project!
By Emily Stangel, Collection Assistant Co-op and Dan Distel, Director of OGL We are excited to announce that the Ocean Genome Legacy Center (OGL) has joined the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP)! A global network of more than 60 affiliated organizations and...
GLP-1: How a gene from an ugly marine fish changed the way we treat diabetes and obesity
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel A specimen of American anglerfish Lophius americanus. (Credit: Mike Beauregard from Nunavut, Canada - pull my finger, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34612997) Sometimes the answers to challenges on land...
Diversity and Inclusion Statement
The Ocean Genome Legacy Center strives to create a safe and welcoming workplace while providing services that support scientific advancement, environmental sustainability, and environmental and social justice. OGL is committed to building a culture based on encouragement and acceptance—supporting equal treatment of all people, regardless of age, culture, race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, politics, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. OGL supports respect for the planet, its people, and the natural world.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the territory on which Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center stands, which is the land of the Mattakeeset tribe of the Massachuset Nation and which has been inhabited by the Pawtucket and Naumkeag people. We honor and respect these peoples past, present, and future, their continuing presence in this region, and the enduring relationships that exist between them and these lands. We strive to be mindful of these relationships, and to integrate them into our research, teaching, decision-making, and actions, while also acknowledging that we still have much to learn.
in collaboration with:
TOOLS FOR RESEARCHERS
Genomic Collection CATALOG
SEAFOOD BARCODING
REQUEST SAMPLES
DEPOSIT SAMPLES
EXTERNAL LINKS
POLICIES, FORMS, AND CITATIONS
In order to help assure the quality, accuracy and compliance of our collection, we ask that depositors read and adhere to our policies and practices.
OGL Sample Collecting Protocols
Sample Information Spreadsheet
For all publications concerning materials (or data derived from materials) distributed by Ocean Genome Legacy (OGL), whether tissue, genomic DNA, tissue products or associated data, an appropriate citation must be made of the material and/or data source. The proper format for such reference citation is:
“Ocean Genome Legacy Genomic Resource Collection. Northeastern University. https://arctos.database.museum/guid/OGL:Genomic:[accession number(s)].”
Communication of Citations
OGL requests that all researchers citing OGL and/or OGL materials and/or OGL data in their publications inform OGL of such publications and citations by sending an e-mail with the relevant information. This will help OGL measure the effective utilization of our biorepository, and will allow us to direct other researchers to your work.
1. Assistance and advice in formulating and drafting sample management plans for grant submissions. Boiler plate language for proposals can be found here.
2. A compliant, secure, and publicly accessible biorepository for your samples and associated metadata.
3. Submission of your sample metadata to public data aggregators/servers (GBIF, OBIS, and GGBN).
4. Continued access to your samples after submission and the ability to temporarily embargo sample and data distribution to accommodate your research and publication plans.
FDA RSSL from September 2018 (.xlsx file)