MRI-Consortium: Acquisition of a Shipboard Sorting High Speed Flow Cytometer for Research and Education

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Intellectual MeritThe PI is requesting funds to acquire a shipboard sorting flow cytometer facility including a shipboard van, MoFlo XDP cytometer, gas chromatograph and accessories, and inverted microscope with stabilizing platform for epifluorescence microscopy. The facility would be used to: identify and isolate new oceanic microbes for cultivation and experimentation; identify and measure various metabolic activities of microorganisms in the ocean at the species and single cell level; and develop new approaches and applications using a cell sorter as a micro-sampler. The facility would enable research on a suite of efforts including: biogeochemistry of biogenic sulfur compounds; intracellular DMSP levels in sorted marine phytoplankton in a variety of locations; microscopic identification of sorted marine algal populations; and toxin concentrations in sorted marine harmful algal bloom (HAB) species. Broader ImpactsThe proposed acquisition will serve to enhance the research capabilities and collaborative efforts at Hollings Marine Laboratory, an institution that represents a partnership between five entities including the College of Charleston, the South Carolina Division of Natural Resources, the Medical University of South Carolina, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and NOAA?s Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research. Additionally, the proposal states that graduate research will involve thesis projects using this proposed instrumentation to test new methods involving molecular probes. Undergraduates will also have the opportunity to be trained on and use the proposed instrumentation as part of existing REU programs, including one focused on underrepresented groups.