A thermal cycler for use in plant ecological research

我申请资金购买热循环器以支持植物生态学的研究。我的实验室主要研究植物的地下过程，包括竞争、菌根网络和根系觅食。由于土壤生物（包括植物根和菌根真菌）的隐蔽性，分子技术对物种鉴定至关重要。我的实验室已经制定了许多植物根种测定方案。我们使用这些，连同其他协议，回答有关菌根在松甲虫爆发后恢复中的作用，群落聚集和系统发育结构，遗传多样性对生态相互作用的影响，以及生态位分化和栖息地分离的问题。所有这些研究的基础都是包括DNA扩增在内的分子技术。为此，需要高质量的热循环器。如果没有这些设备，我的研究计划将受到重大打击，减少我的实验室能够完成的工作的数量和质量。

I am requesting funds to purchase thermal cycler to support research in plant ecology. My lab focuses on belowground processes involving plants, including competition, mycorrhizal networks, and root foraging. Because of the cryptic nature of soil organisms - including both plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi, molecular techniques are critical to species identification. My lab has developed a number of protocols for plant root species determination. We use these, along with other protocols, to answer questions related to the role of mycorrhizae in recovery following pine beetle outbreak, community assembly and phylogenetic structure, impacts of genetic diversity on ecological interactions, and niche differentiation and habitat separation. At the base of all of these studies are molecular techniques that include the amplification of DNA. For this, a high quality thermal cycler is needed. Without this equipment, my research program will take a significant hit, reducing both the quantity and quality of work my lab is able to complete.