Acquisition of Controlled-Environment Chambers for Plant Biological Research at Michigan State University

购买密歇根州立大学用于植物生物学研究的受控环境室

• 批准号: 0116401
• 负责人: Wayne Loescher
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-09-01 至 2005-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0116401&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Acquisition; Controlled; Environment; Chambers; Plant

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Wayne Loescher and colleagues at Michigan State University to acquire controlled environment chambers for plant biological research. Such chambers are necessary for three major reasons: (1) the potential to achieve consistent, standard, or optimum environmental conditions not found in greenhouses or fields; (2) containment and sanitation to avoid contamination; and (3) the opportunities to improve experimental designs and thus the efficiency of the research.The work to be done and the methods to be used are the result of recent advances in plant genomics and proteomics, and also in plant development, biochemistry, breeding, genetics, molecular biology, and plant-environment and plant-pathogen/pest interactions. Contemporary work in plant biology and particularly that in genomics often utilizes Arabidopsis thaliana as a model. Although this plant's size and short reproductive cycle make it well suited for growth in controlled-environments, it is nonetheless quite sensitive to environmental cues. Moreover, successfully using large populations for mutant selection and evaluation often depends on abundant, highly-consistent and/or well-regulated environmental conditions. Beyond Arabidopsis, many Michigan State University plant researchers also utilize crop species, and attempting to grow these under defined environmental conditions can present significant challenges, e.g., high light requirements for most crops cannot be met in older growth chambers or under conventional glasshouse conditions in the winter. For molecular genetic work, and especially that with transgenic plants, containment is important, and is often required in working with such systems. Pollen and other propagules must be contained, and, conversely, unique genetic materials must be protected from foreign pollen. Avoiding contamination by pests and diseases is also essential for all plants, and this is more readily achieved in growth chambers than in glasshouses. The broader significance and scientific importance of this equipment is that modern controlled environments offer much more flexibility in manipulating temperature, light, humidity, and atmospheric composition. Computer controls and monitoring systems now allow for manipulating temperatures, light intensity and duration so as to replicate specific seasonal and daily environmental variations and combinations and monitor experimental conditions for long periods. New generation growth chamber designs minimize vertical temperature gradients, horizontal light gradients, humidity and other atmospheric differences along the borders and walls, thus maximizing the efficiency of chamber space. These factors, along with increased equipment reliability, also reduce the numbers of replicates required for experimentation. Most importantly, new generation equipment allows researchers who want specific conditions (e.g., temperature, light quality, intensity, and duration, or atmospheric manipulations such as CO2 enrichment) much improved capabilities. The new facilities will provide a multi-investigator, interdepartmental resource to support the broad spectrum of plant biology research at MSU. Progress is expected in developing new crops and new and better varieties of traditional crops, in understanding how plants function, how they respond to environmental conditions and resist environmental stresses such as temperature, drought, and salt, and how they might better resist pests and diseases.

密歇根州立大学的韦恩勒舍尔博士和他的同事们获得了一笔赠款，用于植物生物学研究的受控环境室。 这种室是必要的，主要有三个原因：（1）可能实现一致的，标准的，或最佳的环境条件没有发现在温室或领域;（2）遏制和卫生，以避免污染;以及（3）改进实验设计的机会，从而提高研究的效率。要做的工作和要使用的方法是植物基因组学最新进展的结果和蛋白质组学，以及植物发育、生物化学、育种、遗传学、分子生物学和植物-环境和植物-病原体/害虫相互作用。 当代植物生物学，特别是基因组学的工作经常利用拟南芥作为模型。 虽然这种植物的大小和短繁殖周期使其非常适合在受控环境中生长，但它对环境线索非常敏感。 此外，成功地使用大群体进行突变体选择和评估通常取决于丰富的、高度一致的和/或良好调控的环境条件。 除了拟南芥，许多密歇根州立大学的植物研究人员也利用作物物种，并且试图在限定的环境条件下种植这些作物可能会带来重大挑战，例如，在较旧的生长室或在冬季的常规温室条件下，不能满足大多数作物的高光需求。 对于分子遗传学工作，特别是转基因植物，包容性是重要的，并且在使用此类系统时经常需要。 花粉和其他繁殖体必须包含在内，相反，必须保护独特的遗传物质不受外来花粉的影响。 避免害虫和疾病的污染对所有植物来说也是必不可少的，这在生长室中比在温室中更容易实现。该设备的更广泛意义和科学重要性在于，现代受控环境在操纵温度、光线、湿度和大气成分方面提供了更大的灵活性。 计算机控制和监测系统现在允许操纵温度、光照强度和持续时间，以便复制特定的季节和日常环境变化和组合，并长期监测实验条件。 新一代的生长室设计最大限度地减少了垂直温度梯度，水平光梯度，湿度和其他沿着边界和墙壁的大气差异，从而最大限度地提高了室空间的效率。 这些因素，沿着增加的设备可靠性，也减少了实验所需的重复次数。最重要的是，新一代设备允许研究人员谁想要特定的条件（例如，温度、光质量、强度和持续时间，或诸如CO2富集的大气操纵）大大提高了能力。 新设施将提供多研究人员，跨部门的资源，以支持在MSU植物生物学研究的广泛范围。 在开发新作物和传统作物的新品种和更好的品种方面，在了解植物如何发挥作用，它们如何对环境条件作出反应和抵抗温度、干旱和盐等环境压力，以及它们如何更好地抵抗害虫和疾病方面，预计将取得进展。