MRI: Acquisition of Instrumentation for Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Analysis at the University of New Mexico

新墨西哥州大学最近成立了稳定同位素中心（UNM-CSI），致力于加强稳定同位素分析在生物学、地质学、人类学和医学科学中应用的研究和培训。稳定同位素分析（SIA）通过提供从细胞到大陆尺度的痕量元素（所有化合物的基本组成部分）的综合方法，彻底改变了生物学。我们的项目将扩大联安监测团的分析能力，包括特定化合物稳定同位素分析，这是一项新兴技术，可用于分析氨基酸、脂肪酸和碳水化合物等单个化合物。尖端仪器的收购将大大提高UNM学生和博士后研究人员的教育和培训。在行政支助下，犯罪现场调查团将每学期提供两个研究助理，对研究生进行仪器日常操作、质量保证/质量控制协议和数据简化方面的培训。此外，与该项目有关的大多数主要调查员教授本科生和研究生课程，使用UNM-CSI作为教育平台;新仪器将使这些学生接触到开创性的技术。最后，几位主要研究人员还在美国和拉丁美洲教授如何将SIA应用于各自学科研究的短期课程，吸引了500名研究生，并导致一些学生来到美国在UNM-CSI接受培训。技术摘要SIA在生物学中的大多数应用集中在分析大体积基质，如植物和动物组织。CSIA为生物学家提供了一个进入生物化学领域的视角，该领域控制着营养物质如何在生物体内和生物体之间被同化、合成和运输。所要求的仪器将大大提高UNM教师和学生的机会，他们的研究重点是两个一般领域：（1）生物生态学和生理学和（2）古环境重建。我们的研究将解决几个基于CSIA的项目，以（1）检查肠道微生物在合成氨基酸中的作用，当它们的真核宿主不消耗足够量的蛋白质时;（2）探索氨基酸中的氨基酸氢同位素作为动物食物和水使用的新示踪剂;（3）了解植物中碳周转和运输的动态，（4）描述干旱和脱水对沙漠水生系统中种群、群落和生态系统过程的影响，（5）通过叶蜡的同位素分析重建古气候。我们在UNM拥有CSIA能力的目标是开拓创新的分析方法，这些方法将用于解决生物学中的广泛问题，并使下一代科学家能够不受阻碍地获得有可能彻底改变其领域的尖端技术。

Non Technical AbstractThe University of New Mexico recently created the Center for Stable Isotopes (UNM-CSI) that is dedicated to enhancing research and training in the application of stable isotope analysis in the biological, geological, anthropological, and medical sciences. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) has revolutionized biology by providing an integrative way to trace elements, the fundamental building blocks of all compounds, from cellular to continental scales. Our project will expand analytical capabilities at UNMCSI to include compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA), an emerging technology that allows for the analysis of individual compounds such as amino acids, fatty acids, and carbohydrates. The acquisition of cutting-edge instrumentation will greatly enhance education and training for students and post-doctoral researchers at UNM. With administrative support, UNM-CSI will offer two research assistantships per semester to train graduate students in the daily operation of instrumentation, QA/QC protocols, and data reduction. In addition, most of the principal investigators associated with this project teach undergraduate and graduate courses that use UNM-CSI as an educational platform; the new instrumentation will expose these students to pioneering technology. Lastly, several of the principal investigators also teach short courses in the U.S. and Latin America on how to apply SIA to research in their respective disciplines, which have attracted 500 graduate students and resulted in a number of students coming to the U.S. to train at UNM-CSI. Technical AbstractThe majority of SIA applications in biology focus on the analysis of bulk substrates such as plant and animal tissues. CSIA has given biologists a view into the biochemical realm that governs how nutrients are assimilated, synthesized, and transported within and among organisms. The requested instrumentation will greatly enhance opportunities for UNM faculty and students whose research focuses on two general areas: (1) organismal ecology and physiology and (2) paleo-environmental reconstruction. Our research will tackle several CSIA-based projects to (1) examine the role gut microflora play in synthesizing amino acids when their eukaryotic hosts do not consume adequate amounts of protein; (2) explore amino acid hydrogen isotopes in amino acids as novel tracers of food and water use in animals; (3) understand the dynamics of carbon turnover and transport in plants, (4) characterize the consequences of drought and dewatering on population, community, and ecosystem processes in desert aquatic systems, and (5) reconstruct ancient climates via isotope analysis of leaf waxes. Our objectives for having CSIA capabilities at UNM are to pioneer innovative analytical approaches that will be used to address a broad range of questions in biology, and grant the next generation of scientists unimpeded access to cutting-edge technology that has the potential to revolutionize their fields.