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资金的实时聚合酶链反应（PCR）热循环仪检测和量化基因和基因表达在几个项目提出的教师在新玩法大学生物系。 实时PCR是目前最具特异性、灵敏度、准确性、快速性和可重复性的方法，可用于测量单个生物以及复杂土壤和海洋环境中的基因拷贝数和转录本丰度。由6名UNB Biology研究人员提出的各种研究项目中，实时PCR热循环仪是必不可少的：（1）测量参与促进根际植物生长和响应调节蛋白的细菌基因的表达。目标是了解细菌如何促进植物生长，并开发接种剂，以增加对加拿大农业和林业重要的植物产量;（2）检测和量化通过船舶压载水进入加拿大沃茨的人类肠道病毒，目的是制定防止这种传播的战略;（3）分析多细胞藻类对氧化应激和DNA损伤的反应中的基因表达，以检验性别进化为应激适应机制的假设;（4）对一系列物种的反转录基因进行表达分析，以揭示反转录基因多样化的一般特征;与比较序列分析一起，这将有助于基因组组织和进化领域;（5）分析光合生物中新的光胁迫相关基因的转录谱，以表征它们在适应和保护光强度波动中的作用;和（6）测量斑马鱼胚胎发生过程中基质金属蛋白酶和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节机制。在这些研究计划中接受实时PCR使用培训的学生将获得广泛适用于医学诊断，法医，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.