RNA from fungal cultures

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This proposal is a request for funding to purchase three pieces of laboratory equipment that will advance research on fungal biotechnology and natural products conducted by two researchers and their students at the University of Manitoba. The three pieces of equipment include a NanoDrop spectrophotometer for quantifying small amounts of RNA and proteins, a refrigerated benchtop centrifuge to extract RNA and protein in high quality yield, and a temperature controlled shaking incubator to maximize fungal growth for production of RNA and proteins. One of the research programs is that of G. Hausner who studies gene expression and production of novel enzymes that have the ability to allow short fragments of DNA to move within the genome. This has promise for biotechnology advances such as genetically modifying organisms and potentially overcoming the effects of plant pathogens. The other program is that of M. Piercey-Normore who studies the effects of the environment on production of fungal natural products that have medicinal and other activities. The genes that produce these natural products can be controlled by environmental, and hence culture, conditions. Both programs examine expression of fungal genes for different purposes and require this equipment to allow these significant areas of research to progress more effectively.