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

该项目使用了三台仪器，1)Becton Dickinson FAC-Aria II分选流式细胞仪，2)具有成像能力的Amny ImageStream多光谱细胞仪，3)Beckmann Coulter Multisizer 4 Coulter计数器，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种群规模评估，以应用于1)海洋微生物及其生态生理学的种群分析、2)元基因组学、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，而是在大小规模的种群中相互作用。了解海洋生产力所涉及的因素包括监测种群随时间变化的动态，以及对环境变化的反应。这些仪器将使对海洋微生物种群动态的研究达到前所未有的详细程度。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。这将增强为学生和研究人员提供在这些领域进行尖端研究的培训和现代工具的能力。通过共享研究平台的运作和战略性社区建设活动，将产生更广泛的影响。也许当今与社会相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。使用拟议工具所产生的研究将促进所有这三个领域的知识。

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.