MRI: Acquisition of a Bioluminescence/Fluorescence Imaging System for Long-Term Recording of Living Tissues

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).With this award to the Biology department at the University of Virginia a bioluminescence/biofluorescence imaging system will be acquired to study molecular signals associated with daily time keeping mechanisms. The instrument will be used for experiments aimed at gaining a better understanding of the internal circadian clocks that allow animals to anticipate daily changes in their environment and to organize a multitude of bodily functions in an optimized daily schedule. The new imaging system optimally visualizes bioluminescent signals produced by clock-controlled expression of luciferase reporter genes in combination with fluorescent signals produced by additional reporter genes that act as markers for specific cell types or biological activities. With the new technology it will be possible to image cell-type specific circadian gene expression at single cell resolution. The proposed experiments will focus on the cellular and network properties of circadian clock function in fruit fly and rodent model systems. These research activities will strongly stimulate the research programs of the (Co-)PIs as well as help in the recruitment and training of researchers and students to the University of Virginia. The instrument and planned research activities will be prominently featured in several undergraduate courses. In addition, existing affiliations will be used to also incorporate training and outreach at the K-12 level. Participating researchers and students will not only be involved in projects at the cutting edge of chronobiological research and imaging technology, but also receive invaluable training in microscopy and data analysis techniques that will be an asset to them throughout their scientific or professional careers.