Equipment for a Modern Undergraduate Laboratory in Plant Biology

本项目提供现代化实验设备，建立现代植物细胞与分子科学教学体系。两门高级实验课程受到影响：植物生理学和植物生长与发育。植物生理学目前正在首席研究员（他一年前被聘为填补该部门在现代植物实验室科学方面的空白）的手中进行彻底的改造。植物生长与发育是1987- 1988年首次开设的一门新课程。该设备配备了两个完整的实验课程，使学生能够观察植物生物学的基本原理，并获得目前在植物科学实验室研究中使用的方法的经验。这项资助的直接结果是，学生有机会在他们的植物过程研究中使用以下技术：全叶/整株水平的荧光和气体交换，细胞器分离和表征，细胞器亚分离，溶液中极谱气体分析，蛋白质的电泳分离和扫描密度测定定量，免疫化学分析，包括Western blots和酶联免疫吸附剂分析，以及体外翻译。植物分子和细胞生物学是目前研究的热点领域。该项目的一个目标是将这种刺激的一部分传递到地方一级。其中一些设备也被生物学专业的学生用于其他高级实验课程，他们中的大多数人在研究生院或专业学校继续接受正规教育。受资助机构将从非联邦来源获得等额的NSF奖励。

This project is providing modern laboratory equipment to establish a contemporary cell and molecular plant science teaching program. Two upper-level laboratory courses are affected: Plant Physiology, and Plant Growth and Development. Plant Physiology currently is undergoing complete renovation at the hands of the principal investigator (who was hired a year ago to fill the department's void in modern plant laboratory sciences). Plant Growth and Development is a new course, offered for the first time in 1987- 1988. The equipment is fitting out two entire laboratory courses in a manner that allows students to observe fundamental principles in plant biology and to gain experience in methodologies currently employed in plant science laboratory research. As direct result of this grant, students are having an opportunity to utilize the following techniques in their study of plant processes: fluorescence and gas exchange at the whole leaf/whole plant level, organella isolation and characterization, suborganella fractionation, polarographic gas assay in solution, electrophoretic separation of proteins and quantification by scanning densitometry, immunochemical assays including Western blots and enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays, and in vitro translations. Plant molecular and cell biology currently are areas of intense research efforts which are generating a great deal of excitement. An objective of this project is to transmit some of that stimulation to the local level. Some of the equipment also is being used in other upper-level laboratory courses by biology majors, a majority of whom continue their formal education in either graduate or professional schools. The grantee institution is matching the NSF award with an equal sum obtained from non-Federal sources.