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

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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.