Laser illumination & ablation system for functional studies in biology

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This proposal is for a MicroPoint laser illumination and ablation system. Unique among lasers designed for studies in the life sciences, the MicroPoint makes possible simultaneous and precise illumination and ablation of multiple regions of interest, as well as viewing of the laser cutting process or fluorescence excitation through the microscope eyepiece in real time. Because of its configuration, the MicroPoint can be used for a very broad array of inter-disciplinary applications. For example, the applicants on this proposal will use the Micropoint for a) the targeted ablation of fluorescent protein-labeled neurons in zebrafish larvae to perform studies in functional neuroanatomy, b) the ablation of sensory cells in sea urchins larvae to elucidate the mechanisms of hormone signaling during development, c) the precise illumination and release of caged substrates to study the kinetics and structural basis of enzyme reactions, and d) single cell induction of heat shock promoter-controlled transgenes to study the signaling pathways involved in body plan patterning of zebrafish embryos. While diverse, these studies all share a common objective of carrying out functional studies to further our understanding of complex biological processes. As an exquisite tool to perform non-invasive submicrometer-sized ablations and highly localized sub-cellular illumination, the MicroPoint Laser System will open up new avenues currently unavailable at the University of Guelph and opportunities to carry out cutting edge functional studies in a broad array of biological fields.