National Xenopus Resource Center

描述(由申请者提供)：该项目将在马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔的海洋生物实验室(MBL)建立一个国家非洲爪哇资源中心。非洲爪哇研究界向NIH提交的白皮书描述了迫切需要一个中心来储存动物种群和传播新技术。几个实验室，主要是那些在这项提议中的关键人员，已经定义了开发一个主要的库存中心所需的畜牧业、卫生和住房条件。MBL是建立这样一个中心的理想场所，因为它被公认为是生物研究的首要地点；它与非洲爪哇研究社区有着长期的联系，作为再生医学倡议的一部分，如果2009年中心的运营获得资金，它将为建设一个新的非洲爪哇中心提供资金。这次重新提交有四个目标。第一个需要在第一年建立该设施，并产生关键的动物品系(野生型、近交系、转基因和突变体)。在目标2中，涵盖2-5年，该设施的范围将扩大，以提供一系列被研究界公认为高度优先的动物品系。此外，将建立转基因和遗传核心设施，作为新中心的一部分，以允许产生新的品系，并供研究人员参观该设施，学习与这些领域相关的技术。在第三个目标中，我们侧重于拟议中心在传播新技术方面的作用，这将包括中心将开设的一系列小型课程，由特定领域的专家授课(例如畜牧学、转基因、先进成像、鸡蛋提取液的制备、生物信息学)。最终目标侧重于畜牧业，包括制定加强畜牧业和健康监测的方案，并将这些方案传播给研究界。为了提高雌性的生育力，缩短到性成熟的时间，提出了优化畜牧业的实验。这次重新提交的一些关键变化是：1)更加重视莱维氏X.laevis种群(同时减少热带X.laevis种群)，以更好地满足社区需求；2)制定更明确的领导计划；3)降低AIMS的复杂性(例如，减少中心的种群数量；去除前向遗传学核心)；以及4)澄清健康和疾病爆发问题。 公共卫生相关性(申请人提供)：研究非洲爪哇的细胞生物学家在我们对细胞黏附和运动、信号转导和细胞周期控制的理解方面取得了许多突破，从而对癌症生物学的理解也取得了许多突破，因为恶性转化以根本的方式影响所有这些过程。研究非洲爪哇的发育生物学家对控制胚胎模式和运动的过程提出了变革性的见解。以及基因调控，这是导致大量出生缺陷的基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project would establish a national Xenopus Resource Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. White Papers submitted to NIH by the Xenopus research community describe the urgent need for a center to house animal stocks and to disseminate new technology. Several laboratories, primarily those who are key personnel on this proposal, have defined the husbandry, health and housing conditions needed to develop a major stock center. The MBL is an ideal place for such a center because it is acknowledged as a premier site for biological research; it has a long association with the Xenopus research community and, as part of a Regenerative Medicine initiative, will fund the construction of a new Xenopus Center if funds are obtained for Center operation in 2009. This resubmission has four aims. The first entails setting up the facility in year 1 and generating critical animal lines (wildtype, inbred, transgenic and mutant). In aim 2, covering years 2-5, the scope of the facility will be expanded, to provide a spectrum of animal lines recognized as a high priority by the research community. In addition, transgenic and genetic core facilities will be established as part of the new Center to allow new lines to be generated, and for researchers to visit the facility to learn technologies associated with these areas. In the third aim, we focus on the role of the proposed Center in disseminating new technology This would include a series of minicourses to be offered at the Center, to be taught by experts in particular areas (e.g. husbandry, transgenesis, advanced imaging, preparation of egg extracts, bioinformatics). The final aim focuses on animal husbandry, include setting up protocols for enhanced husbandry and health surveillance, and disseminating these to the research community. Experiments are proposed to optimize husbandry to improve fertility of females and shorten the time to sexual maturity. Some key changes in this resubmission are: 1) an increased emphasis on X. laevis stocks (and concomitant reduction of X. tropicalis stocks) in order to better serve community needs; 2) development of a clearer leadership plan; 3) reduction in the complexity of aims (e.g. reducing stock number in the Center; removing forward genetics core); and 4) clarification of health and disease outbreak issues. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by applicant): Cell biologists studying Xenopus have made many breakthroughs in our understanding of cell adhesion and movements, signal transduction and control of the cell cycle, and thus to our understanding of cancer biology, because malignant transformation affects all of these processes in fundamental ways. Developmental biologists studying Xenopus have made transformative insights into processes controlling patterning of and movements in the embryo. and gene regulation, which underlie a multitude of birth defects.