Acquisition of Plant Growth Chambers for Plant Biotechnology Research and Teaching

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Salem-Teikyo University (S-TU) is a not-for-profit United States institution of higher learning located in rural Appalachia. Although no financial support is derived from Teikyo University, the merger has brought about the opportunity for sharing research resources and faculty with the international science community. At the same time, we continue to have a special impact on the Appalachian region. About 60% of the S-TU student body comes from around the U. S. S-TU is committed to developing both undergraduate and M.S. programs in molecular biology/biotechnology within the Natural Science and Mathematics Department, which also offers majors in mathematics, environmental science, and biology. New courses related to biotechnology include an intensive course on research techniques and advanced courses in cell biology and molecular biology. Near completion of the program, undergraduates will conduct independent research. The undereraduate program was established in 1992. The offering of the master's program is pending approval from the North Central Association. S-TU's molecular biology/biotechnology research is in cooperation with Tampa Bay Research Institute (TBRI) in St. Petersburg, FL and with Teikyo University School of Science and Engineering in Utsunomiya, Japan. S-TU is specializing in the biology and genetic engineering of plants, and it is for this research that support is being sought. Drs. Suzanne Rogers, Takashi Ueda, and Kirk Cammarata have established active research programs and several undergraduate students are now involved. Presently, the development of research is hampered by inadequate culture facilities. A small laboratory which was converted into a dedicated plant tissue culture area has proved inadequate for two reasons: temperature and humidity variations in the room, and the different conditions required by separate investigators. Hence, funds are requested to purchase four separate plant growth chambers with controls for temperature, li ght, and humidity. These should provide the necessary control of environmental conditions for all current and foreseeable research. The areas of research that will benefit from the NSF funding are directed either toward elucidation of control of gene expression in plants or toward genetic transformation of plants to improve quality or economic use. Dr. Rogers is developing methods for propagating rare and fragile plants by cloning and regeneration procedures. Dr. Ueda is studying the genetic program controlling plant seed development7 particularly those genes regulating production of the storage protein zein in corn. Dr. Cammarata is examining roles of various defense and stress-related genes encoding chloroplast localized products (polyphenol oxidase, etc.).