Flow Cytometry and Molecular Multi-User Facility at BIOS

BIOS 中的流式细胞术和分子多用户设施

• 批准号: 1522206
• 负责人: Penelope Barnes
• 金额: $ 17.42万
• 依托单位: Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-15 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1522206&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Flow; Cytometry; Molecular; Multi; User

In order to fully characterize and understand both regional and global climate, as well as fundamental ocean processes and functions, scientists are required to collect a wealth of information. Certain questions, such as how the ocean responds to global climate change, can only be answered by in-depth analysis of data collected continuously over a significantly long period of time, also known as a time-series study. The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) (www.bios.edu), an independent U.S. not-for-profit organization and a Bermuda Registered Charity, is home to several of the longest running, open-ocean time-series research programs in the world (Hydrostation 'S', the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series (BATS) Program and the Ocean Flux Program (OFP)). Bermuda's unique geographic position in close proximity to the open ocean, combined with BIOS' oceanographic support infrastructure, provide an ideal venue for research initiatives that address pressing issues in the ocean sciences. The new Flow Cytometry and Molecular Multi-User Facility (FCMMF) at BIOS will provide access to basic molecular instrumentation, in-house flow cytometer (laser-based technology used in cell counting, cell sorting and biomarker detection) and devices to vertically sample the ocean. This project will expand the number of important questions that can be locally addressed, while reducing the cost and risk associated with shipping samples off-island for all users. The large number of visiting scientists and ongoing scientific collaborations with external scientists, many with NSF-supported research programs, means that the equipment provided by the FCMMF will have a far reaching impact on the research capacity of the marine sciences community as a whole. Importantly, the FCMMF will assist BIOS in meeting the increasing student demand for research training in cutting-edge techniques. The educational goal of BIOS is to immerse students in experiential learning through research in the ocean sciences. This can be a seminal change for many students whose institutions lack programs in marine science or the opportunity to conduct independent research. Education experiences at BIOS can influence decisions that determine STEM education and career trajectories, with students leaving better prepared to pursue professional careers and/or graduate programs. This new facility includes field sampling equipment that will provide a mechanism to collect individuals of the planktonic community (nano to mesoplankton) in a vertically stratified way. The chosen dry lab equipment platforms are characterized by their versatility, easy use and low maintenance. The Flow Cytometer model will allow the analysis of particles from 50 nm to 200 ìm in diameter, facilitating a wide spectrum of studies, from environmental microbial ecology to eukaryotic cell biology. The modularity capability of this unit will allow for future improvement and expansion if desired. The molecular component of the facility will allow basic analyses and also support sample preparation for next-generation sequencing. The FCMMF will benefit a wide range of research programs at BIOS, as well as those of visiting scientists. Paralleling the benefits to basic research, the FCMMF facility has been explicitly designed for use with student internships, current BIOS courses and the development of new courses, particularly a modern biological oceanography course. Since 2010, BIOS has hosted an average of 105 visiting scientists and over 750 students annually, most of them from US institutions. The FCMMF allows BIOS to provide scientists and students with the ability to address numerous and diverse biological questions. In addition to biological oceanography, this project will benefit a wide variety of research programs including genome structure and gene expression in marine invertebrates, larval longevity and gene flow in corals, temporal and spatial fine-scale characterization of open ocean microbial and eukaryotic communities, organismal response to ocean acidification, and the biological processes influencing ocean-atmosphere gas exchange of carbon.

为了充分描述和了解区域和全球气候以及基本的海洋过程和功能，科学家需要收集大量信息。某些问题，例如海洋如何应对全球气候变化，只能通过对在相当长一段时间内连续收集的数据进行深入分析（也称为时间序列研究）来回答。百慕大海洋科学研究所 (BIOS) (www.bios.edu) 是一家独立的美国非营利组织和百慕大注册慈善机构，是世界上多个运行时间最长的开放海洋时间序列研究项目（Hydrostation 'S'、百慕大大西洋时间序列 (BATS) 计划和海洋通量计划 (OFP)）的所在地。百慕大靠近公海的独特地理位置，加上 BIOS 的海洋学支持基础设施，为解决海洋科学紧迫问题的研究计划提供了理想的场所。 BIOS 的新流式细胞术和分子多用户设施 (FCMMF) 将提供基本分子仪器、内部流式细胞仪（用于细胞计数、细胞分选和生物标志物检测的激光技术）和垂直采样海洋的设备。该项目将扩大可以在本地解决的重要问题的数量，同时降低所有用户将样品运送到岛外的相关成本和风险。大量的访问科学家以及与外部科学家正在进行的科学合作，其中许多是由 NSF 支持的研究项目，这意味着 FCMMF 提供的设备将对整个海洋科学界的研究能力产生深远的影响。重要的是，FCMMF 将协助 BIOS 满足学生对尖端技术研究培训日益增长的需求。 BIOS 的教育目标是通过海洋科学研究让学生沉浸在体验式学习中。对于许多所在机构缺乏海洋科学项目或进行独立研究机会的学生来说，这可能是一个重大变化。 BIOS 的教育经历可以影响决定 STEM 教育和职业轨迹的决策，让学生在离开时为追求职业生涯和/或研究生课程做好更好的准备。这个新设施包括现场采样设备，将提供一种以垂直分层方式收集浮游生物群落（纳米到中层浮游生物）个体的机制。所选的干燥实验室设备平台具有多功能性、易于使用和低维护的特点。流式细胞仪模型将允许分析直径从 50 nm 到 200 µm 的颗粒，促进从环境微生物生态学到真核细胞生物学的广泛研究。如果需要，该单元的模块化功能将允许未来改进和扩展。该设施的分子组件将允许进行基本分析，并支持下一代测序的样品制备。 FCMMF 将使 BIOS 的广泛研究项目以及访问科学家的项目受益。与基础研究的好处并行，FCMMF 设施经过明确设计，可用于学生实习、当前 BIOS 课程和新课程的开发，特别是现代生物海洋学课程。自 2010 年以来，BIOS 每年平均接待 105 名访问科学家和超过 750 名学生，其中大多数来自美国机构。 FCMMF 使 BIOS 能够为科学家和学生提供解决众多不同生物学问题的能力。除了生物海洋学之外，该项目还将惠及各种研究项目，包括海洋无脊椎动物的基因组结构和基因表达、珊瑚幼虫寿命和基因流、开放海洋微生物和真核生物群落的时间和空间精细特征、对海洋酸化的生物体反应以及影响海洋-大气碳交换的生物过程。