Intracellular cargo transport in Toxoplasma gondii

项目总结 细胞内货物转运是所有真核细胞中普遍存在的重要细胞过程。这个 家长资助的研究重点是了解原生动物寄生虫的货物运输机制。 弓形虫。为了回答这些问题，我的研究小组使用了细胞生物学和 生物物理技术和我的实验室产生的很大一部分数据都是基于显微镜的。至 我们已经使用了DeltaVision Elite显微镜。然而，这种显微镜的生产已经停产。 2019年。许多替换部件不再可用。DeltaVision的维修和服务已经成为 在过去的12个月里，情况越来越困难。我们在寻找替代者方面遇到了很大的延误 这导致我的研究团队成员的生产率下降。在有缺陷的情况下 显微镜部件不能更换，我们研究项目的所有进展都会停滞不前。用这台设备 作为补充，我们建议用尼康改进的TI2系统取代DeltaVision 功能性。简而言之，尼康系统有一个可定制的工作台，该工作台将被改装成包括微流体 系统，促进了新的体外分析和分析管道的实施。此外，TI2可以 在安装时或将来适应共焦和高分辨率应用程序 升级。TI2拥有业界领先的视野和更快的获取速度。第四代 完美的聚焦系统和ThermoBoxTM将使长期的多天成像实验成为可能，这是 目前还不可行。我们的工作关键依赖于一台可靠和可用的显微镜。购买 新的TI2尼康系统将使我们继续在理解货物运输机制方面取得进展 并扩展我们的实验方法。

PROJECT SUMMARY Intracellular cargo transport is a vital and ubiquitous cellular process that occurs in all eukaryotic cells. The research focus of the parent grant is to understand the cargo transport mechanism in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. To answer these questions my research group uses a combination of cell biology and biophysical techniques and a huge proportion of the data generated in my laboratory is microscopy based. To date we have used a DeltaVision Elite microscope. However, production of this microscope was discontinued in 2019. Many replacement parts are no longer available. Repair and service of the DeltaVision has become increasingly difficult in the last 12 months. We have experienced significant delays in finding replacement parts, which has led to decreased productivity for members of my research team. In the event that a defective microscope part cannot be replaced, all progress on our research projects would stall. With this equipment supplement, we propose to replace the DeltaVision with a Ti2 system from Nikon that has improved functionality. Briefly, the Nikon system has a customizable stage that will be adapted to include a microfluidics system, facilitating the implementation of new in vitro assays and analysis pipelines. In addition, Ti2 can accommodate both confocal and high-resolution applications at either the time of installation or as future upgrades. The Ti2 has an industry leading field of view and increased acquisition speeds. The 4th generation perfect focus system and the ThermoBoxTM will enable long-term multiday imaging experiments, which are currently not feasible. Our work critically depends on a reliable and serviceable microscope. Purchase of the new Ti2 Nikon system will allow us to continue the progress on understanding the cargo transport mechanisms in T. gondii and expand our repertoire of experimental approaches.