Acquisition of Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer and Sample Preparation Systems

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1. PROJECT SUMMARY We propose to establish a stable isotope facility at UC Davis containing two isotope-ratio mass spectrometers, two elemental analyzers, and associated equipment for sample preparation and data analysis. One of the mass spectrometers would be a high throughput, medium resolution instrument that would be dedicated to the analysis of enriched samples; the other would be a lower throughput, but higher resolution instrument, dedicated to the analysis of variation in natural abundance levels. This facility would expedite experiments that require stable isotopes including (a) field studies of soil nutrient and water movement, (b) determination of carbon fixation pathway, plant water use efficiency, and nitrogen utilization, and (c) measurements of metabolism and nutrient uptake. At present, our analyses are conducted off-campus at many different locations. Not only has uniformity been difficult to insure, but the high expense has limited such analyses to research with extramural support. Worse, long turnaround times-- sometimes extending to nearly a year--have seriously compromised our experimental protocols. The proposed stable isotope facility at UC Davis should alleviate these problems. Students, faculty, and staff in the plant and environmental sciences at UC Davis would have access to the proposed facility. The seven PIs are associated with nine graduate programs. During the last decade, 1134 students have received graduate degrees from these UC Davis programs, and 364 graduate students are currently enrolled. A significant percentage of these students would benefit from the proposed facility, either through course work or through their independent research programs. With a facility on campus, students could prepare their own samples for analysis to reduce costs as well as to provide direct experience using these techniques. Thus, more students would be likely to incorporate stable isotopes into their protocols.