A Confocal Microscope for Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biology

激光扫描共聚焦显微镜将显著增强和扩展威廉玛丽学院一组分子、细胞和综合生物学家的研究能力。目前，这些研究人员使用传统的光和荧光显微镜，由于某些固有的局限性，排除了某些类型的研究。共聚焦显微镜可以产生生物标本的光学切片，然后这一系列的光学切片可以通过计算机重建进行层析组装，以产生非常精确的三维图像，可以通过任何平面进行光学观察。这允许成像荧光信号在活组织和厚的生物标本。共聚焦显微镜是非常适合于可视化多个荧光信号在同一细胞同时，并允许共定位的精确定量测量。研究者可以检测微弱或微弱的图像，同时显着增加图像的分辨率相比，标准的荧光。此外，即使是亚细胞结构或信号也可以在组织切片或活胚胎的背景下定位在细胞内。共聚焦镜的获得将使这些研究人员能够更有效地开展他们目前的研究项目，并将他们的研究扩展到新的方向。该仪器将对七个不同的研究项目产生重大影响，包括：(1)了解控制脑血管发育的分子和细胞机制，特别是组织相互作用和遗传反应，从而产生脑血管；(2)研究核激素受体的亚核转运；(3)确定草原鹿鼠生殖反应和抑制的生理和遗传机制；(4)揭示白足鼠光响应性的遗传变异；(5)研究秀丽隐杆线虫有丝分裂和减数分裂的中期到后期转变，特别是后期促进复合体的作用；(6)分析下丘脑温度调节神经元的功能形态，以了解生物体如何调节温度；(7)确定B细胞发育过程中Pax-5转录因子活性调控的遗传机制。此外，来自生物系的其他研究人员以及来自其他学科的研究人员，包括生物心理学，运动机能学和应用科学，也将使用共聚焦显微镜。这台仪器的获得不仅将对研究人员的研究能力产生深远的影响，而且将对威廉玛丽学院的教育产生重大影响。该技术将被整合到细胞生物学、分子生物学和神经生物学课程中。大量的硕士生和本科生将在他们的研究过程中使用共聚焦显微镜。

A laser scanning confocal microscope will significantly enhance and expand the research capabilities of a group of molecular, cellular, and integrative biologists at the College of William and Mary. Currently, these investigators use conventional light and epifluorescence microscopy which, due to certain inherent limitations, precludes certain types of studies. Confocal microscopy can produce optical sectioning of biological specimens and this series of optical sections can then be tomographically assembled using computer reconstruction to produce extremely precise three dimensional images that could be optically viewed through any plane. This allows for imaging fluorescent signals in both living tissues and in thick biological specimens. Confocal microscopy is extremely well suited for visualizing multiple fluorescent signals in the same cell simultaneously and allows for an accurate quantitative measurement of colocalization. The investigator can detect weak or faint images while dramatically increasing the resolution of the image compared to standard epifluorescence. Moreover, even subcellular structures or signals can be localized within a cell in the context of a tissue slice or a living embryo. The acquisition of a confocal scope will enable these investigators to conduct their current research projects more efficiently and productively as well as extend their research in new directions. This instrumentation will have a major impact on seven different research projects including (1) understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing the development of brain vasculature, in particular the tissue interactions and genetic responses that give rise to the brain vasculature ; (2) investigating subnuclear trafficking of nuclear hormone receptors; (3) determining the physiological and genetic mechanisms regulating reproductive responsiveness and inhibition in prairie deermice; (4) uncovering genetic variation underlying photoresponsiveness in the white-footed mouse; (5) investigating the metaphase to anaphase transition during mitosis and meiosis in C. elegans, particularly the role of the anaphase promoting complex; (6) analyzing the functional morphology of thermoregulatory neurons in the hypothalamus in order to understand how organisms regulate their temperature; and (7) determining the genetic mechanisms regulating the activity of the Pax-5 transcription factor during B cell development. In addition, additional investigators from the Biology Department as well investigators from other disciplines including BioPsychology, Kinesiology and Applied Science, will also utilize the confocal microscope. The acquisition of this instrument will have a profound effect not only on the research capabilities of the investigators but will also have a significant educational impact at the College of William and Mary. This technology will be integrated into the cell biology, molecular biology, and neurobiology courses. A substantial number of both Master's degree students and undergraduates will utilize the confocal microscope in the course of their research.