Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system for high-throughput analysis of bioactive plant metabolites and environmental samples

小分子和代谢物的快速准确定量在现代环境和植物生物学研究中至关重要。尽管我们获得基因组学技术的机会在过去十年里大幅增加，但我们的化学分析能力却没有跟上。所要求的超高性能液相色谱(UHPLC)系统将满足这一关键需求，并使森林生物学中心和相关实验室能够进行新的研究。它将促进大型实验的高通量分析，这是我们目前在UVic任何地方都没有的能力，并将开辟基于新型单四极杆质谱学探测器的新的分析和定量方法。该系统将大大减少分析所需的植物材料数量，同时通过UV/VIS光电二极管阵列检测器提供准确的定量，从而加快正在进行的研究项目。 所需设备的主要功能将是分析和定量小的生物活性植物衍生分子或植物化学物质。这些小分子，也被称为天然产物，是植物生态适应的关键角色。它们与植物抵御害虫和病原体、耐受干旱或紫外线辐射等非生物胁迫以及调节森林土壤中凋落物的腐烂和养分释放有关。因此，所需设备将支持森林生物学中心内的各种研究项目，包括森林基因组学、酚类生物化学、逆境生态生理学和植物-病原体相互作用。我们的主要项目都涉及植物适应性基因或遗传变异的研究；然而，由于我们无法有效地表征植物化学表型，它们受到了限制。同样，我们在转基因树木的酚类生物合成和分析方面的工作也受到我们无法检测小样本量的限制。所要求的超高效液相系统是所有这些应用的理想之选，无论是处理大样本数量、小体积，还是其灵敏度和质谱分析能力。预计它还将促进开发用于风暴和废水处理的树基技术的新研究项目。它将缓解几个研究项目中的严重瓶颈，并通过为我们的研究生提供最先进的设备来促进更好的HQP培训。

The rapid and accurate quantification of small molecules and metabolites is of paramount importance in modern environmental and plant biology research. While our access to genomics technology has expanded dramatically in the past decade, our capacity for chemical analysis has not kept pace. The requested Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) system will fill this critical need and enable novel research in the Centre for Forest Biology and associated labs. It will facilitate high-throughput analysis of large experiments, a capacity which we currently do not have anywhere at UVic, and will open up new methods of analysis and quantification based on a novel single quadrupole mass spectrometry detector. The system will accelerate ongoing research projects by dramatically reducing the amount of plant material needed for analysis, while still providing accurate quantitation via the UV/Vis photodiode array detector. The primary function of the equipment requested will be the analysis and quantitation of small bioactive plant-derived molecules, or phytochemicals. These small molecules, also known as natural products, are key players in ecological adaptation of plants. They are implicated in plant defense against pests and pathogens, in tolerance towards abiotic stresses such as drought or UV radiation, and in regulating litter decay and nutrient release in forest soils. The requested equipment will therefore support diverse research programs within the Centre for Forest Biology, including in forest genomics, phenolic biochemistry, stress ecophysiology, and plant-pathogen interactions. Our major projects all involve studies of adaptive plant genes or genetic variation; however, they are constrained by our inability to efficiently characterize the phytochemical phenotypes. Likewise, our work on phenolic biosynthesis and analysis of genetically modified trees is limited by our inability to assay small sample volumes. The requested UHPLC system is ideal for all these applications, both for handling large sample numbers, small volumes, and for its sensitivity and capacity for mass spectrometry analysis. It is also expected to facilitate development of novel research projects on tree-based technology for storm and wastewater treatment. It will relieve serious bottlenecks in several research programs, and facilitate better HQP training by providing state-of the art equipment for use by our graduate students.