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

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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.