Controlled Environment Chambers for Plant and Algal Research

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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.