A Confocal Microscope for Cell and Developmental Biology Research

该应用程序申请资金用于购买与尼康显微镜集成的Bio-Rad共聚焦系统。该设施的七个主要用户是罗切斯特大学生物系的初级和高级教员，他们都是由国家拨款机构(NSF、NIH、USDA)资助的。用户目前的计划包括在发育中的生物体(果蝇、海胆、拟南芥)中进行命运指定、细胞-细胞相互作用和形态发生的研究；细胞骨架元件在细胞和生物功能中的作用；核运输的机制；以及基因组包装的调节。这些项目统一使用分子、遗传和/或生化技术来研究特定的基因产品如何影响细胞和发育过程。为了进行定量、动态分析和共定位研究，所有这些项目现在都需要一种共焦显微镜系统，该系统具有以下特点：1)可靠且易于多人使用；2)具有多种光学类型；3)在激发和发射波长上具有灵活性；以及4)在Z轴和X/Y轴上具有良好的分辨率。还需要能够进一步量化和处理共焦数据的图像分析软件。作为生物系的成员，所有用户还参与了正规和非正规环境下的本科生和研究生教育。在所述每个研究项目的背景下，所要求的仪器将供研究生和博士后在培训中使用。该仪器还将用于本科生课程和外展项目的演示，以及高级实验室课程和独立本科生研究项目的实践体验。

This application requests funds for the purchase of a Bio-Rad confocal system integrated with a Nikon microscope. The seven major users of this facility are junior and senior faculty in the Department of Biology at the University of Rochester, and all are funded from national granting agencies (NSF, NIH, USDA). The current programs of the users involve carrying out studies on fate specification, cell-cell interactions and morphogenesis in developing organisms (Drosophila, sea urchins, Arabidopsis); the role of cytoskeletal elements in cellular and organismal functions; the mechanisms of nuclear transport; and regulation of genome packaging. These projects are unified in using molecular, genetic and/or biochemical techniques to ask how specific gene products influence cellular and developmental processes. In order to carry out quantitation, dynamic analysis and co-localization studies, all of these projects now require a confocal microscope system which is: 1) reliable and easily used by a number of individuals; 2) has multiple types of optics; 3) has flexibility in the excitation and emission wavelengths; and 4) has excellent resolution in the Z and X/Y axes. Image analysis software that allows further quantification and manipulation of the confocal data is also requested. As members of the Department of Biology, all of the users are also involved in education of undergraduate and graduate students in both formal and informal settings. In the context of each of the research projects described, the requested instrumentation will be used by graduate students and postdoctorals in training. The instrumentation will also be employed for demonstrations in undergraduate courses and outreach programs, and for hands-on experiences- in advanced laboratory courses and independent undergraduate research projects.