A Single Photon Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope for Multi-Spectral Imaging of Plant Cellular Processes

该奖项为购买新的单光子多荧光/光谱共聚焦激光扫描显微镜提供支持，该显微镜将在塞缪尔·罗伯茨诺布尔基金会的共享资源中运行，为多个用户服务。这一现有的核心细胞成像设施为研究人员及其博士后研究员和学生提供了使用现代细胞生物成像技术的仪器和培训。细胞成像设备的主要焦点是荧光探针在植物细胞过程研究中的应用，重点是现代光学显微镜技术与分子、生物化学和基因组方法的结合。这一新型共聚焦显微镜提供了比现有设备显著改进的能力，允许使用更广泛的荧光探针对细胞结构和蛋白质进行多色成像，荧光共振能量转移(FRET)方法用于研究蛋白质-蛋白质/核酸-蛋白质相互作用，基于绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)的离子成像，以及光漂白后荧光恢复(FRAP)/光激活技术用于研究膜和细胞器动力学。新设备的计划用途包括：植物次生代谢研究；根生长和向重力性过程中细胞骨架的动态和功能研究；病毒积累、移动和疾病诱导；植物DNA修复机制；病毒诱导细胞程序性死亡的细胞生物学；以及生长素极地运输的分子机制。此外，该仪器将用于教育用途，并可用于诺布尔基金会与诺布尔基金会密切联系的北得克萨斯州/南俄克拉荷马州大学的本科生和研究生培训。基金会不断扩大的外展活动，包括面向本科生的高尚学者方案，以及与高中教师教育倡议的伙伴关系，也将受益于所要求的文书。

The award provides support for purchase a new single photon multi-fluorescence/spectral confocal laser-scanning microscope to be operated in a shared resource serving multiple users at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. This existing core cellular imaging facility provides researchers and their postdoctoral fellows & students access to instrumentation and training in their use in modern cell biological imaging techniques. The major focus of the cellular imaging facility is the application of fluorescent probes to the investigation of plant cellular processes with emphasis on the integration of modern light microscopy techniques with molecular, biochemical and genomic approaches. This new confocal microscope provides significantly improved capabilities over existing equipment by allowing the use of a wider range of fluorescent probes for multicolor imaging of cellular structures and proteins, of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) methods for studies on protein-protein/nucleic acid-protein interactions, of green fluorescent protein (GFP) based ion imaging, and of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP)/photoactivation techniques for studying membrane and organelle dynamics. Among the planned uses of the new equipment are studies on plant secondary metabolism; the dynamics and function of the cytoskeleton during root growth and gravitropism; virus accumulation, movement and disease induction; mechanisms of DNA repair in plants; cell biology of virus-induced programmed cell death; and molecular mechanisms of polar auxin transport. In addition, the instrument will be available for educational uses and for training of undergraduate and graduate students at universities in the North Texas/South Oklahoma with which the Noble Foundation has close ties. The expanding outreach activities of the Foundation, which include a Noble Scholars program for undergraduate students and partnerships with high school teacher educational initiatives will also benefit from the requested instrument.