MRI: Acquisition of an Ion Torrent PGM Sequencer for Research and Education

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This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award funds the acquisition of an Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (Ion PGM) sequencer to enable next-generation sequencing at the Molecular Research Core Facility of Idaho State University (ISU). Next-generation sequencing technology enables experiments that were, until recently, virtually impossible to perform at institutions the size of ISU, and provides a way for the researcher to determine the exact sequence of all the DNA and RNAs in an organism at a given time. Understanding how organisms function and interact with their environment in normal and perturbed states is a major goal of biological and medical researchers. The Ion PGM at ISU will enable researchers to explore physiology and genomics of individual microbes and complex communities, with emphasis on bioenergy and bioremediation; reconstruct human colonization and adaptation in Pacific Island environments using phylogeographic and demographic models; identify variation in genes for fiber, antioxidants and fatty acids in crop plants; identify genetic components of plant ecophysiological responses to climate change; identify genes associated with microbial radiation resistance; and profile gene expression patterns in model organisms exposed to psychoactive pharmaceutical contamination in aquatic systems. The results from these studies will be presented at scientific conferences, published in peer-reviewed journals and deposited in public databases for the benefit of the biological research community. Furthermore, through their research activities and mentorship of graduate and undergraduate students, the co-PIs are deeply committed to providing training opportunities for Idahoans. The ISU Molecular Research Core Facility has a long history of reaching out to regional educational K-12 institutions, undergraduate institutions, Federal research labs and biotechnology companies, to encourage broader participation in science and promote the training and development of the next generation of research scientists.