NIEHS Center Aquatic Animal Facility Renovation

描述(申请人提供)：NIEHS儿童环境健康科学核心中心为使用水生动物作为生物医学研究的模式生物的一批科学家提供研究支持。随着对毒理学和环境健康的关注，该中心最近开始强调斑马鱼是发育毒理学的主要模型。威斯康星大学密尔沃基分校的定向招聘和机构间儿童=S环境健康研究所的成立极大地扩大了中心=S的成员人数，并使水生动物设施(AAF)有必要从一个通用的生物医学水生动物设施转变为一个专注于斑马鱼的设施，也可以提供其他几种鱼类的护理。目标是建立一个单位，支持这些鱼种从胚胎到成鱼的所有生命阶段的高存活率和使用。在这方面，该提案要求为改建该设施提供资金，具体目标如下：(1)为该设施及其内部房间提供安全、无钥匙的出入系统，并为该设施提供应急电源。(2)对鱼类设施的入口空间进行实体改造，以便从外部来源(如野生捕捞或其他动物设施)获得的鱼与内部鱼类种群在物理上分开，从而减少将疾病引入鱼类设施种群的可能性，同时保持引入新基因种群的能力。(3)安装一个大容量的去离子水系统和自动注射器，以加强或取代目前用于向鱼类供水的脱氯水系统。(四)购置和安装各循环水流机架系统水质监测系统，维护水质。监测系统将实时监测溶解氧、pH、盐度和温度的水平，并在任何被监测的组件超出指定参数时向适当的人员发出警报。(5)用较低的板凳取代标准的实验室高度板凳，以便与立体解剖显微镜一起使用。(6)获取立体显微镜和倒置显微镜。(7)建立具有冷冻速度控制的低温系统和基于液氮的储存系统，以产生和保存冷冻精子，作为有价值的斑马鱼品种的备份。(8)购买替代高压灭菌器，为设施提供灭菌能力。 公共卫生相关性(由申请者提供)：水生动物设施是一个独特的单位，通过为科学家提供饲养支持、专门设施和工作人员专业知识来支持斑马鱼的使用。斑马鱼是一种主要的发育生物学模型。它的存在促进了一大批基础和临床研究人员的聚集，他们合作并使用这一模式来了解生殖和发育疾病和障碍的起源，特别是与心脏和神经发育有关的疾病和障碍。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The NIEHS Children's Environmental Health Sciences Core Center provides research support to a cadre of scientists who use aquatic animals as model organisms in their biomedical research. With a focus on toxicology and environmental health, the Center has recently moved to emphasize the zebrafish as a prime model in developmental toxicology. Targeted hiring at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the formation of the inter-institutional Children=s Environmental Health Institute have greatly expanded the Center=s membership and made it necessary to undertake the conversion of the Aquatic Animal Facility (AAF) from a general purpose biomedical aquatic animal facility to one that focuses on the zebrafish and also can provide care for a few other fish species. The objective is establish a unit that supports high survival rates and use of all life stages from the embryo to the adult of these fish species. In this context, the proposal requests funds for remodeling the facility with the following specific aims: (1) To provide a secure, keyless access system for the facility and its internal rooms and emergency power to the facility. (2) To physically remodel the entry space to the fish facility so that fish obtained from exogenous sources (e.g. wild caught or from other animal facilities) are physically separated from in-house fish stocks, thus, reducing the potential for introducing disease into the fish facility stocks, while maintaining the ability to introduce fresh genetic stocks. (3) To install a large capacity deionized water system with an automated injector to augment or replace the dechlorinated water system presently used to supply water to the fish. (4) To acquire and install water quality monitoring systems for each recirculating and flow through rack system for maintenance of water quality. The monitoring systems would monitor in real time the levels of dissolved oxygen, pH salinity, and temperature and alert appropriate personnel when any of the monitored components wnet outside designated parameters. (5) To replace standard lab height benches with lower benches for use with stereo dissecting microscopes. (6) To acquire stereo and inverted microscopes. (7) To obtain a cryogenic system with freezing rate control and liquid nitrogen based storage system for generating and maintaining frozen sperm as back ups for valued zebrafish strains. (8) To purchase a replacement autoclave to provide sterilization capacity for the facility. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by applicant): The Aquatic Animal Facility is a unique unit that supports the use of zebrafish by providing scientists with husbandry support, specialized facilities, and staff expertise. The zebrafish is a prime developmental biological model. Its existence has facilitated the assembly of a critical mass of basic and clinical investigators who collaborate and use this model to understand the origins of reproductive and developmental diseases and disorders, particularly those related to cardiac and neurological development.