Chlorophyll fluorescence systems for real-time monitoring of plant performance

这笔赠款将用于购买用于实时监测植物表现的叶绿素荧光(ChlF)系统，以支持多种PI，并为UTM园区的新的最先进的温室配备现代植物表型鉴定设备。荧光计将支持一支从早期职业生涯到UTM社区成熟的PI的研究团队，他们拥有充满活力的研究实验室、重叠的研究兴趣和不同但互补的专业知识，并将在UTM的新研究温室建立植物表型鉴定中心的愿景。 今天的科学家在后基因组时代面临的主要挑战之一是“表型瓶颈”：迫切需要有关植物表现的信息来补充现有资源(基因组学、遥感)，获得对逆境抗性的机械性见解，利用这些信息进行育种，并预测在当前和未来气候挑战下的生态系统反应。有了所需的设备，从分子生物学和(EPI)基因组学到植物生理学、遥感和生态系统建模的植物研究将得到支持。 在这里，我们建议购买新开发的强大的荧光计，它基于ChlF和光系统II的活性，能够检测个体之间的差异，更重要的是，以非破坏性的方式检测应激反应。尤其重要的是前所未有和迫切需要的时间(微型PAM)和空间(成像PAM)分辨率，允许对植物响应进行长期、精细和时间分辨的研究。目前，校园里没有植物层面的时间分辨表型鉴定设备。然而，这样的设备将是对科学家、他们的HQP和校园表型中心的关键投资，以确保UTM当前和未来的尖端协作研究。对这一设想的支持也反映在研究副主任办公室和经济和社会事务部对这一提议的财政捐助中。生物学部，资助总额达30,000美元。

This grant will support the purchase of a chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) system for real-time monitoring of plant performance to support multiple PIs and to equip the new state-of-the art greenhouse at the UTM campus with modern plant phenotyping equipment. The fluorometers will support a team of researchers from early career to established PIs in the UTM community with vibrant research labs, overlapping research interests and divergent but complementing expertise, and the vision to establish a hub for plant phenotyping at the new research greenhouse at UTM. One of the central challenges faced by today's scientists in our post-genomic era is the “phenotyping bottleneck”: information on plant performance is critically needed to complement existing resources (genomics, remote sensing), gain mechanistic insights into stress resistance, exploit this information for breeding, and to predict ecosystem responses under current and future climate challenges. With the requested equipment, plant research ranging from molecular biology and (epi)genomics to plant physiology, remote sensing and ecosystem modeling will be supported. Here, we propose to purchase newly developed powerful fluorometers that, based on ChlF und photosystem II activity, are able to detect differences between individuals and, critically, detect stress responses in a non-destructive fashion. Especially important is the unprecedented and critically needed temporal (Micro PAM) and spatial (Imaging PAM) resolution that allows for long-term, fine-scale, and time-resolved studies of plant responses. No equipment for time-resolved phenotyping at plant level currently exists on campus. Nevertheless, such equipment will be a critical investment into the scientists, their HQP and in a campus phenotyping hub to ensure current and future cutting-edge collaborative research at UTM. Support for this vision is also reflected in the financial contributions for this proposal by both the Office of the Vice Principal, Research and the Dep. of Biology, amounting to a total of $30,000 in support.