MRI: Acquisition of FACS Cell Sorter for Research on Antibiotic Resistance and Environmental Toxicant Receptors

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An award is made to Kenyon College to obtain a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS). The cell sorter will enable separation and quantitation of cell types for experimental evolution of bacteria to study antibiotic resistance and survival in acid. This project may reveal chemical agents important in the fitness of bacterial populations. The instrument will also enable measurement of DNA content in animal cells, revealing how cells divide and respond to environmental toxicants. Both these aims have potential benefits for environmental quality. The FACS will enhance two undergraduate research programs serving approximately 25 undergraduates who publish transformative research at Kenyon College; many of them subsequently enter the nation?s science research pipeline. First-year students will participate in research, an important high-impact practice (HIP) that enhances STEM retention. The undergraduate research population includes economically disadvantaged students in Kenyon's NSF-funded S-STEM program. In subsequent years, the instrument will serve additional undergraduate research projects in environmental microbiology and immunology. The FACS will be employed to test chemical agents that may reverse antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations. This instrument enables rapid screening of resistance-reversal agents by cell analysis for fitness competition assays. It will also facilitate a novel means of isolating bacterial mutants that have altered cytoplasmic pH, using a fluorophore with pH-dependent excitation peaks. Another undergraduate research program addresses the mechanism of amphibian receptors for dioxins and other important environmental pollutants called aryl hydrocarbons. The FACS will enable testing of an exciting hypothesis that aryl hydrocarbon receptors play distinct roles in regulating the cell cycle, a key process for development and carcinogenesis. Beyond the grant period, the FACS will enable development of new research on the microbial community structure of aquatic systems subject to human disturbance. An immunology program will investigate the role of macrophage activation in stress induction of asthma.