MRI: Acquisition of Cell Population Analysis Tools for Oceanography and Biotechnology

该项目使用三种仪器，1）Becton Dickinson FACsAria II分选流式细胞仪，2）具有成像能力的Amnis ImageStream多光谱细胞仪，以及3）Beckmann Coulter Multisizer 4 Coulter Counter，为微生物海洋学和生物技术提供最先进的分析工具套件。 这些仪器将能够对单个微生物细胞进行群体规模的评估，以应用于1）海洋微生物及其生态生理学的群体分析，2）宏基因组学，3）藻类生理学，4）藻类生物燃料和5）生物技术。 海洋中的微生物，从细菌到单细胞浮游植物，并不是孤立存在的，而是在大规模和小规模的群体中相互作用。 要了解海洋生产力所涉及的因素，就需要监测种群随时间变化的动态以及对环境变化的反应。这些仪器将使我们能够以前所未有的详细程度研究海洋微生物种群动态。 微藻的技术应用具有重大的科学和社会意义，流式细胞仪分析将有助于可再生燃料的开发、药物的发现和生产以及纳米技术。 这些仪器将为海洋和环境科学中的海洋微生物和生物技术研究提供最先进的基础。这将提高为学生和研究人员提供培训和现代工具的能力，以便在这些领域进行尖端研究。将通过共同研究平台的运作和战略性社区建设活动，实现更广泛的影响。也许与当今社会有关的三个最紧迫的科学问题是气候变化、可再生燃料和纳米技术。 通过使用拟议的工具进行的研究将增进所有三个领域的知识。

This project utilizes three instruments, 1) a Becton Dickinson FACsAria II sorting flow cytometer, 2) an Amnis ImageStream multispectral cytometer with imaging capability, and 3) a Beckmann Coulter Multisizer 4 Coulter Counter, to provide a state-of-the-art suite of analysis tools for microbial oceanography and biotechnology. These instruments will enable population-scale evaluation of individual microbial cells for applications in 1) population analysis of ocean microbes and their ecophysiology, 2) metagenomics, 3) algal physiology, 4) algal biofuels, and 5) biotechnology. Microbes in the ocean ranging from bacteria to unicellular phytoplankton do not exist in isolation, but rather interact in populations on both the large and small scale. Understanding factors involved in ocean productivity involves monitoring the dynamics of changes in population over time, and in response to environmental changes. These instruments will enable the study of ocean microbe population dynamics in unprecedented detail. Technological applications of microalgae are of great scientific and societal interest, and flow cytometric analyses will aid in the development of renewable fuels, discovery and production of pharmaceuticals, and nanotechnology. These instruments will provide a state-of-the-art foundation for marine microbial and biotechnological research in the ocean and environmental sciences. This will enhance the ability to provide students and researchers with the training and modern tools to do cutting edge research in these areas. Broader impacts will be achieved through the operation of a shared research platform and strategic community-building activities. Perhaps the three most pressing science issues relating to society today are climate change, renewable fuels, and nanotechnology. Research resulting from the use of the proposed instruments will advance knowledge in all three areas.