Real-time PCR thermal cycler to quantify genes and gene expression

这个NSERC研究工具和基础设施应用程序寻求为实时聚合酶链式反应(PCR)热循环仪寻找资金，以检测和量化新不伦瑞克大学生物系教员提出的几个项目中的基因和基因表达。实时PCR是目前可用于测量单个生物和复杂土壤和海洋环境中基因拷贝数和转录丰度的最特异、灵敏、准确、快速和可重复性的方法。由6名UNB生物学研究人员提出的各种研究项目，其中实时聚合酶链式反应热循环仪是必不可少的：(1)测量参与促进植物根际生长的细菌基因的表达和对调节蛋白的响应。其目标是了解细菌如何促进植物的生长，并开发接种剂来增加对加拿大农业和林业重要的植物的产量；(2)检测和量化通过船舶压载水进入加拿大水域的人类肠道病毒，目的是制定防止这种传播的策略；(3)分析多细胞藻类对氧化应激和DNA损伤的反应基因表达，以检验性别进化为适应胁迫的机制的假设；(4)对各种物种的逆转录基因的表达进行分析，以揭示逆复制如何多样化的一般特征；结合比较序列分析，这将有助于开展以下领域的工作：(1)研究斑马鱼胚胎发育和进化过程中新的光胁迫相关基因的表达情况；(5)分析光合作用生物中新的光胁迫相关基因的转录谱，以确定它们在适应和保护光强波动中的作用；(6)测量斑马鱼胚胎发生过程中基质金属蛋白酶及相关基因表达的变化，以研究在发育和疾病过程中控制这些酶的调控机制。在这些研究项目中接受实时聚合酶链式反应使用培训的学生将获得广泛适用于医疗诊断、法医学、环境和农业行业以及分子生物学研究的技能。

This NSERC Research Tools and Infrastructure application seeks funding for a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) thermal cycler to detect and quantify genes and gene expression in several projects proposed by faculty in the Biology Department at the University of New Brunswick.  Real-time PCR is currently the most specific, sensitive, accurate, rapid, and reproducible method available to measure gene copy number and transcript abundance in single organisms and from complex soil and marine environments. Diverse research projects proposed by six UNB Biology researchers for which a real-time PCR thermal cycler is essential are: (1) Measurement of expression of bacterial genes involved in promotion of plant growth in the rhizosphere and in response to regulatory proteins. The goal is to understand how bacteria promote growth of plants and to develop inoculants to increase yields of plants that are important to agriculture and forestry in Canada; (2) Detection and quantification of human enteric viruses introduced into Canadian waters through ship ballast water with the aim of developing strategies to prevent such dissemination; (3) Analysis of gene expression in multicellular algae in response to oxidative stress and DNA damage to test the hypothesis that sex evolved as a mechanism for stress adaptation; (4) Expression analysis of retroduplicated genes across a range of species to reveal the general features of how retroduplications diversify; together with comparative sequence analysis, this will contribute to the fields of genomic organization and evolution; (5) Analysis of transcription profiles of novel light stress related genes in photosynthetic organisms to characterize their role in adaptation to and protection from fluctuations in light intensity; and (6) Measurement of changes in matrix metalloproteinase and related gene expression during zebrafish embryogenesis to investigate the regulatory mechanisms controlling these enzymes in development and disease processes. Students trained in the use of real-time PCR in these research programs will acquire skills that are broadly applicable to medical diagnostics, forensics, environmental and agricultural industries, and molecular biological research.