Acquisition of DNA Sequencing and Bioinformatics Resources for the Molecular Research Core Facility at Idaho State University

该项目将通过升级爱达荷州立大学(ISU)目前的DNA测序仪以及购买一个机器人单元和一个生物信息学集成包，来扩大其分子研究核心设施(MRCF)的测序能力。近年来，由于现有教员越来越多地使用分子工具，以及2004年秋季生物科学系6名新的终身教职和1名研究教员的到来，MRCF经历了巨大的增长。收购的工具将增强研究活动和资金的竞争力，特别是对于跨学科合作项目。近年来，招聘教师的目的是创建互动的、跨学科的研究集群，以规划大型项目。其中一些集群依赖于高效、高容量的MRCF，包括进化基因组学、神经生物学、“外基因组学”(研究质粒和噬菌体)、元基因组学(环境生物多样性评估和监测)和生态基因组学组。除了个人的研究努力外，这些小组内的联会正在导致对分子研究能力的需求激增。这一仪器将把MRCF带向两个关键的新方向。首先，除了传统的分子研究外，许多当前的使用者正在将他们的研究扩展到基因组规模的分析。MRCF的扩展将有助于它在小基因组研究中的使用。新仪器的第二个关键方向涉及将MRCF与执行支助股现有的生物信息学设施相结合。这将MRCF带入后基因组时代，允许MRCF用户从作业提交到数据质量控制和存储再到操作和分析的无缝体验。ISU的生物信息学小组自2004年春季以来一直与MRCF合作，为这一整合做基础工作，并将继续在与MRCF及其用户的合作中发挥重要作用。ISU长期以来一直强调为本科生提供实践研究机会，其中许多人继续攻读美国顶尖研究生课程。在为地区拉美裔、美洲土著和农村学生的招募和培训提供便利方面，MRCF发挥了重要作用，为重点是将分子科学经验带入课堂和将学生带入研究实验室的“高等教育管道”做出了贡献。发起的项目包括面向当地本地高中生的本地学者方案和面向本地高中生的生物青年研究方案。这些外展方案将随着MRCF资源的增加而扩大。

This project will expand the sequencing capacity at Idaho State University's (ISU) Molecular Re-search Core Facility (MRCF) through the upgrade of their current DNA sequencer and purchase of a robotics unit and a bioinformatics integration package. The MRCF has experienced enor-mous growth in recent years due to increased use of molecular tools by existing faculty and the arrival of six new tenure-track and one research faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences in fall 2004. The acquired instruments will enhance research activities and funding competitive-ness, especially for interdisciplinary collaborative projects. Faculty hires in recent years have been designed to create interactive, interdisciplinary research clusters to plan large-scale pro-jects. Some of these clusters depend upon an efficient, high-capacity MRCF, including evolu-tionary genomics, neurobiology, "extragenomics" (studying plasmids & phages), metagenomics (environmental biodiversity assessment and monitoring), and ecological genomics groups. Syn-ergy within these groups, in addition to individual research efforts, is leading to a groundswell of demand for molecular research capacity.This instrumentation will take the MRCF in two critical new directions. First, in addition to tra-ditional molecular research, many current users are expanding their investigations to genome-scale analyses. Expansion of the MRCF will contribute to its use in small-genome research. The second critical direction for the new instrumentation involves the integration of the MRCF with ISU's existing bioinformatics facilities. This brings the MRCF into the post-genomic era, allow-ing MRCF users to have a seamless experience from job submission to data quality control and storage to manipulation and analysis. The bioinformatics group at ISU has been working with the MRCF since spring 2004 to do the groundwork for this integration and will continue to play a major role in collaborating with the MRCF and its users.ISU has long emphasized hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate students, many of whom go on to graduate school in the nation's top graduate programs. The MRCF plays a large role in providing facilities for the recruitment and training of regional Hispanic, Native Ameri-can, and rural students by contributing to a "pipeline to higher education" focused on bringing molecular science experiences into the classroom and students into research laboratories. Initia-tives include the Native Scholars Program for regional native high school students and the Biol-ogy Youth Research Program for local high school students. These outreach programs will ex-pand with the augmentation of MRCF resources.