Acquisition of Ultracentrifuge, Liquid Scintillation CounterAutoclave, and Water Purification System for Photosensory Research in Microorganisms

需要为制备超离心机、液体闪烁计数器和高压灭菌器提供支持。对于两种真核微生物，真菌Phycomyces blakesleanus和藻类Chlamydomonas rehardtii的光响应的生化研究迫切需要该设备。在藻类中，蓝光控制几种反应，包括趋光性、光生长反应、胡萝卜素合成和孢子囊发育。藻类以及许多其他植物和真菌中的蓝光感受器仍有待鉴定。特性良好的突变体的出现，为生化分离光感受器和参与光敏转导过程的其他分子提供了一种策略。在衣藻中，趋光性和胡萝卜素的合成利用视紫红质感光器。然而，这种视紫红质还没有得到足够数量的纯化来进行光谱分析。两个生物物理研究小组的生物化学工作水平不断提高，要求物理大楼内有适当的设备，而不仅仅是校园内的生物大楼。超速离心机是细胞分离，特别是膜分离所必需的。液体闪烁计数器将用于受体结合研究，并使用放射性标记探针追踪信号通路。该高压灭菌器将用于生长介质和设备的灭菌。

Support is requested for a preparative ultracentrifuge, liquid scintillation counter and an, autoclave. This equipment is urgently needed for biochemical studies of photoresponses in two eukaryotic microorganisms, the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus and the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. In Phycomyces, blue light controls several response, including phototropism, light growth responses, carotene synthesis, and sporangiophore development. The blue-light photoreceptors in Phycomyces and in many other plants and fungi remain to be identified. The availablity of well characterized mutants, provides a strategy for biochemical isolation of photoreceptors and other molecules involved in photosensory transduction processes. In Chlamydomonas, phototaxis and carotene synthesis employ a rhodopsin photoreceptor. This rhodopsin, however, has yet to be purified in sufficient quantity for spectroscopic analysis. The increasing level of biochemistry work in the two biophysics research groups requires that appropriate equipment be available within the physics building, instead of only in the biology building across campus. The ultracentrifuge is required for cell fractionation, in particular membrane fractionation. The liquid scintillation counter will be used for receptor binding studies and for tracing signaling pathways using radioactively labeled probes. The autoclave will be used for sterilization of rowth media and apparatus.