Acquisition of Equipment for Nucleic Acid and Protein Analysis

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Three items that would become components of our expanding molecular biology/biotechnology and environmental biology programs are solicited. These items are an automated DNA sequencer, a DNA synthesizer and a filmless autoradiography system. These tools for the synthesis of DNA and the analysis and quantitation of nucleic acids and proteins will extend research capabilities in numerous areas. A core of 12 research laboratories would directly benefit from the acquisition of this equipment. This core includes members from both the molecular biology/ biotechnology and the environmental biology programs in the department. A major Departmental priority has been to forge collaborations among these diverse research interests. It has become clear that the key to integrating these programs is molecular analysis. The molecular biologists routinely require nucleic acid sequence data for characterizing genes and verifying constructs. In addition these researchers must precisely quantify mRNA and protein levels to investigate gene regulation, and must synthesize oligonucleotides to manipulate specific DNA sequences. We also have an expanding environmental biology program that has strengths in conservation and population biology. The investigators of this program are relying increasingly on the power and resolution offered by molecular techniques. The problem encountered by population biologists is that the large sample sizes and extensive array of markers often required for these studies have restricted the wide scale use of laborious and expensive molecular techniques. The proposed equipment would be used jointly by both the molecular biology/ biotechnology and the environmental biology segments of our department. The equipment would serve as a focal point to foster collaborative and integrative research efforts. These projects range from basic research on gene regulation to studies of population dynamics and conservation genetics. The efficiency of these projects would be increased and all would be expanded and strengthened by the acquisition. The instrumentation would also have a significant impact on our environmental biology, biotechnology and molecular biology research training capabilities.