High-throughput homogenizer for analysis of gene expression and metabolic profiles

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The funding requested in this grant application is to support the purchase of a high-throughput Precellys 24 tissue homogenizer with the Cryolys cooling system. This is the only commercially available high-throughput tissue homogenizer with a cooling option, which is necessary for the processing of temperature sensitive samples. Breaking apart tissues (homogenization) to release cellular compounds is the often the first step in any biochemical of genetic analysis of organisms and this process can be one of the most time consuming. Using standard technology for tissue homogenization, students and researchers can spend weeks in front of a homogenizer, but with new, high-throughput technology, such as the Precellys 24 Tissue homogenizer, time spent processing samples can be reduced by up to 5 or 10 fold. Being able to process hundreds or thousands of tissue samples quickly is important so that data can reach publication in the most time efficient manner possible. This high-throughput homogenizer will directly support the research programs of Drs. PM Schulte and JG Richards. Combined, their research programs attempt to determine how animals, mostly fish, respond to environmental challenge. This research goal is of particular relevance when viewed from the perspective of increasing human impacts on the environment, because organisms are now experiencing unprecedented environmental changes that are testing their tolerance limits. Understanding the factors that set a species' tolerance limits is an important component of predicting which animals are most at risk due to global change.