Urgent replacement of real-time PCR machine

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We request funds for the urgent replacement of a real-time PCR machine that is critical to the diverse research programs of the applicants, who are members of the Comparative Animal Physiology group in the Department of Zoology at UBC. Real-time quantitative PCR is the gold standard for the detection and quantification of nucleic acid targets and is a key technique in molecular physiology. The requested real-time PCR machine supports a wide range of applications including quantitative assessment of mRNA, microRNA and non-coding RNA levels in tissues, genotyping of genomic DNA for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and identification of other variations in DNA sequences through high resolution melt-curve analysis. Our current real-time PCR machine, purchased ~10 years ago on a prior NSERC RTI, is now starting to fail and in the last year has required extensive repairs and has been out of service for long periods, which has caused delays in the research programs of the applicants. Replacing this instrument is essential to ensuring continuity in our research programs and the progress of our many trainees. The applicant team represents a mix of emerging and established researchers with balanced gender representation. These teams have an outstanding track record of high impact research, with publications in top tier journals such as Cell, Nature, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Molecular Ecology, and the Proceedings of the Royal Society. Collectively, their work addresses the adaptations of animals to a changing environment across a diverse range of taxa including fishes, insects, and marine invertebrates. Their work relies extensively on real-time PCR, and thus this instrument will be heavily used by the applicants. It will also be made available for use by the broader comparative animal physiology group, which includes more than 10 active research groups, as well as by other users in the Department and from across the UBC campus. Based upon past utilization, this replacement instrument will be used nearly continuously by trainees in multiple groups, with anticipated hands-on usage by at least 100 trainees (including undergraduates, graduate students & post-docs) over the next decade. Training in real-time PCR foundational for development of skills in molecular physiology. Our group has a strong record of success in hands-on training in this area, and has a particular focus on increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion in our training programs. The real-time PCR machine is critical in this respect as the use of real-time PCR is accessible to trainees at all levels, and thus projects using this instrument often provide the critical "first introduction to research" for students from under-represented groups. The skills acquired through this training and through the use of this instrument are highly desirable to a range of employers in academia, industry, government, and the non-profit sector.