McMaster Plant Growth Facility Renewal, Phase II

麦克马斯特大学生物系的植物生物学家研究植物如何应对各种环境因素，以提高作物产量和当地生态系统为长期目标。werwertilnyk博士和Dudley博士正在努力了解原生环境和农田中的植物如何应对干旱和高土壤盐度等非生物压力。Drs。Cameron， Finan和Elliot对了解植物与微生物的相互作用感兴趣，包括共生（Finan, Elliot）和致病（Cameron）。此外，Dudley博士对植物之间的相互作用以及植物竞争和合作感兴趣。为了继续为我们各自的领域做出贡献，我们需要使用精确控制温度、照明和湿度的现代化生长室。我们请求为麦克马斯特植物生长设施的第二阶段更新提供资金。在第一阶段，博士。Cameron和wertilnyk成功地获得了资金（2011年NSERC RTI， 2011年CFI-LOF），以更换六个老化的Conviron生长室（2个ey15, 4个E7H），并扩大了设施的容量，以满足他们的ORF Eutrema Stress Genomics研究（2010-2015）的需求。在二期工程中，我们希望用LED（发光二极管）照明的现代精确控制多层生长室取代剩余的40年历史的古老的孔洞室。这不仅将扩大麦克马斯特生长设施的生长能力，还将提供模拟田间和温室条件的照明，从而加强生物系所有植物生物学家的研究项目。我们工厂设备的现状意味着。Finan、Cameron和wertilnyk必须放弃对他们的研究项目至关重要的实验。此外，达德利博士和埃利奥特博士的研究已经到了一个关键阶段，需要在精确控制的生长室中进行实验，目前没有生长室的空间可供他们使用。因此，麦克马斯特大学的植物生物学家们要想继续取得成功，就必须成功地获得RTI拨款，以更新麦克马斯特生长设施二期。

The plant biologists in the Department of Biology at McMaster study how plants respond to various environmental factors with the long-term goal of improving crop production and native ecosystems. Drs Weretilnyk and Dudley are working to understand how plants in native environments and crop fields respond to abiotic stresses like drought and high soil salinity. Drs. Cameron, Finan and Elliot are interested in understanding plant-microbe interactions, both symbiotic (Finan, Elliot) and pathogenic (Cameron). Additionally Dr. Dudley is interested in plant-plant interactions in terms of plant competition and cooperation. To continue contributing to our respective fields, we require access to modern growth chambers that precisely control temperature, illumination and humidity. We are requesting funds for Phase II of the renewal of the McMaster Plant Growth Facility. In Phase I, Drs. Cameron and Weretilnyk were successful in obtaining funding (2011 NSERC RTI, 2011 CFI-LOF) to replace six aged Conviron growth chambers (2 EY15s, 4 E7H) and also expand the capacity of the facility to meet the needs of their ORF Eutrema Stress Genomics research (2010-2015). In Phase II, we wish to replace the remaining ancient 40 year-old Conviron chambers with modern precisely controlled multi-tier growth chambers with LED (light-emitting diode) illumination. This will not only expand the growth capacity of the McMaster Growth Facility, but also provide lighting that mimics both field and greenhouse conditions and therefore enhance the research programs of all the plant biologists in the Department of Biology. The current state of our plant facility means that Drs. Finan, Cameron and Weretilnyk must abandon experiments that are critically important for their research programs. Moreover, there is currently no growth chamber space available for Dr. Dudley or Elliot whose research has reached a critical stage where experiments in precisely controlled growth chambers is required. Therefore success in obtaining an RTI grant for Renewal of the McMaster Growth Facility, Phase II, is absolutely essential for the continued success of the plant biologists at McMaster University.