Controlled Environment Chambers for Plant and Algal Research

光合作用生物主宰着地球上几乎所有食物网的底部，并对人类生活的所有领域产生深刻影响，包括农业、人类健康和维护强大的生态系统。我们要求资金购买两个受控环境生长室，用于处理陆地植物、藻类和光合细菌。这些实验室是强大而灵活的平台，用于微调生长条件(光、温度、湿度)，迫切需要取代不再运行的类似设备。获得可用的生长室空间是目前限制渥太华大学植物和藻类研究的最大单一限制因素，因为光合作用生物的实验几乎总是需要在受控的环境条件下生长和/或孵化。根据我们目前的需求和预计的使用情况，我们预计该设备将在其大部分寿命内持续使用，预计为20年。生长箱是工业和研究中常用的工具；在我们实验室接受培训的HQP将获得多种植物和藻类培养的实用技能，这些技能在加拿大发展中的农业、水产养殖和环境保护部门受到高度欢迎。 生长室空间对于支持我们由NSERC资助的专注于植物和藻类生理学、植物-微生物相互作用、胁迫信号、植物发育和新陈代谢、毒理学和生态学的研究项目至关重要。获得所需的小室将对以下研究计划产生直接影响：i)阐明极地藻类对环境胁迫的反应。极地地区和来自这些栖息地的冷适应生物正越来越多地受到前所未有的气候变化速度的威胁。我们的目标是了解这种压力对冷水藻的影响，冷水藻是极地环境中食物链的基础。Ii)了解植物与丛枝菌根真菌共生的分子机制。这些有益的土壤微生物定居在大多数陆地植物的根上，包括重要的农作物，如小麦、水稻和大豆，但目前对这些真菌下调植物免疫以实现共生的机制的了解很少。三)确定形成水华蓝藻毒性背后的环境驱动因素。在世界各地，由于营养负荷增加和可能的气候变化，有毒蓝藻水华对野生动物、人类健康和区域经济构成越来越大的风险。一些蓝藻水华产生强烈的毒素，而另一些则不产生，原因尚不清楚(S)。所要求的设备将在所有项目中使用，并将是多个总部基地多年培训的关键。

Photosynthetic organisms dominate the bottom of virtually all food webs on our planet and have a deep impact on all areas of human life, including agriculture, human health, and the maintenance of robust ecosystems. We request funds to purchase two controlled environment growth chambers for working with land plants, algae and photosynthetic bacteria. These chambers are powerful and flexible platforms for fine-tuned control of growth conditions (light, temperature, humidity) and are urgently needed to replace similar equipment that is no longer operational. Access to available growth chamber space is presently the biggest single constraint limiting plant and algal research at uOttawa, since experiments with photosynthetic organisms almost invariably entail the growth and/or incubation under controlled environmental conditions. Based on our current needs and projected usage, we expect that the equipment will be in continuous use for most of its lifespan, which is anticipated to be >20 years. Growth chambers are commonly used tools in both industry and research; HQP trained in our labs will gain a multitude of practical skills in plant and algal cultivation that are highly sought in the developing agriculture, aquaculture and environmental protection sectors in Canada. Growth chamber space is essential to support our NSERC-funded research programs focused in plant and algal physiology, plant-microbe interactions, stress signaling, plant development and metabolism, toxicology, and ecology. Acquisition of the requested chambers will have an immediate impact on the following research programs: I) Elucidating the responses of polar algae to environmental stress. The Polar Regions and the cold-adapted organisms from these habitats are increasingly being threatened by the unprecedented rate of climate change. We aim to understand the impact such stress will have on cold-water algae, the base of the food chain in polar environments. II) Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underpin the symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. These beneficial soil microbes colonize the roots of a majority of land plants, including important agricultural crops such as wheat, rice, and soy, and yet current knowledge of the mechanisms by which these fungi down-regulate plant immunity to enable symbioses is poor. III) Determining the environmental drivers behind the toxicity of bloom-forming cyanobacteria. Around the world toxic cyanobacterial blooms pose a growing risk to wildlife, human health and regional economies, due to increased nutrient loading and possibly climate change. Some cyanobacterial blooms produce potent toxins while others do not, and the reason(s) remains unclear. The requested equipment will be used in all projects and will be key in training of multiple HQP for many years.