Ultracold (-85C) freezer for storage of biological samples

这笔拨款是为了购买一个能够在-85摄氏度下储存生物样本的超低温冷冻机。这个冷冻机将由三个彼此靠近的不同实验室共享。主要研究方向为：1)神经孢子虫的昼夜节律。这项研究旨在回答这样一个问题：生物是如何判断时间的？所有比细菌大的生物，甚至一些细菌，都有内在的时钟，在许多生物过程中驱动日常节奏，这些“昼夜节律”对人类健康很重要。我们以常见的面包霉菌——粗神经孢子菌为模式生物，在分子和生化水平上研究了生物钟的机制。我们使用时钟中断的突变菌株来帮助我们识别时钟机制的组成部分。2)内分泌系统的昼夜节律组织。这项研究将生物计时研究与内分泌学结合起来，研究激素如何调节生理。我们使用昆虫Rhodnius，我们研究激素节律是如何由昆虫体内相互作用的时钟网络控制的，以将日常生理和细胞事件组织成对生命至关重要的有序序列。3)减数分裂蛋白的调控与相互作用。当动物的性细胞分裂产生精子或卵子时，它们必须正确地分裂染色体，以便每个子细胞得到正好一半。我们使用小鼠的精子形成细胞来研究调节这一过程的蛋白质。我们使用克隆方法生产大量的这些蛋白质来制造抗体。对于上述1)和2)的实验，我们需要每隔几小时收集一次样品，快速冷冻以停止所有酶的活动，并将其储存在超低温冰箱中，以防止我们感兴趣的分子降解，直到我们准备好处理它们。对于这三个项目，我们还需要储存用于基因克隆的DNA、RNA和细胞样本，以及容易降解的化学物质。

This grant is requesting funds to buy an ultracold freezer, capable of storing biological samples at -85 degrees C. This freezer will be shared by three different laboratories that are located near each other. The three research projects are as follows:1) Circadian rhythms in Neurospora. This research is aimed at answering the question: How do living things tell time? All living things bigger than bacteria, and even some bacteria, have internal clocks that drive daily rhythms in many biological processes, and these "circadian" rhythms are important in human health. We use the fungus Neurospora crassa, a common bread mould, as a model organism to study the mechanism of the clock at the molecular and biochemical level. We use mutant strains with disrupted clocks to help us identify components of the clock mechanism.2) Circadian organization of the endocrine system. This research combines the study of biological timing with endocrinology, the study of how hormones regulate physiology. We use the insect Rhodnius, and we study how hormone rhythms are controlled by a network of interacting clocks in the insect to organize daily physiological and cellular events into the ordered sequences that are essential for life.3) Regulation and interaction of proteins of meiosis. When sex cells in animals divide to make sperm or eggs, they must divide up the chromosomes correctly so that each daughter cell gets exactly half. We use the sperm-forming cells of mice to study the proteins that regulate this process. We use cloning methods to produce large amounts of these proteins to make antibodies.For the experiments in 1) and 2) above, we need to collect samples every few hours around the clock, rapidly freeze them to stop all enzyme activities, and store them in an ultracold freezer to prevent degradation of the molecules we are interested in until we are ready to process them. For all three projects, we also need to store samples of DNA, RNA and cells used for gene cloning, and chemicals that are easily degraded.