A grant has been awarded to Dr. Steven W. Runge and colleagues at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) to obtain a Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope (LSCM). This instrument has the ability to capture images of cells and cellular structures that are tagged with fluorescent markers with a resolution unmatched by other types of light microscopy. The ability of the LSCM to acquire optical sections and construct 3-D images from a variety of live and prepared tissues and to perform time-course analyses on living cells and tissues will impact a wide range of research programs at UCA. Investigations that will employ the LSCM range from 3-D reconstruction of complex tissues such as actively growing plant shoots and brains of rats and marine snails to tracking the movement of structures inside of cultured cells and native tissues. Collectively, acquisition of this instrument will elevate faculty and student research at UCA to new levels of sophistication. This will allow researchers to address questions that previously were inaccessible. A significant benefit of having this work conducted at UCA, rather than at distant institutions, will be the heightened opportunities for our undergraduates to become involved in research. Our graduate students (master's level) will also acquire important experience and skills that will promote future research and professional study.
The LSCM will be used to address a wide variety of research questions in the natural sciences. These include: the rapid assay and localization of plant pigments involved in responses to UV-light; morphological characterization of neurons in the white matter of mammalian brains; tracking the exocytic insertion of potassium channels into intestinal membranes for osmoregulation in marine gastropods; visualization of synaptic connections involved in behavioral decisions in whole brains of marine gastropods; understanding mechanisms that underlie the selective death of Purkinje cells during maturation of the rat cerebellum; tracking the movement of developmental signals that direct inflorescence architecture in flowering plants; examination of secretory canals in plants and the effects of trenching insects on latex/oil distribution; and ratio imaging to monitor intracellular pH and time-course imaging of vesicular trafficking of Na+/H+ exchangers in cultured cells undergoing apoptosis. Methodologies to be employed include visualization of autofluorescent molecules and structures in plant tissues, tagging stuctures with fluorescent antibodies, filling individual brain cells with fluorescent molecules to identify connections to other cells, and labeling cell-surface proteins with fluorescent markers to follow the movement of these proteins to and from the cell surface under different conditions.
In addition to research, the LSCM will be a valuable addition to science instruction at UCA. Confocal microscopy will help students visualize complex 3-D processes in biology and make measurements on living cells that will be invaluable assets to teaching. For instance, stages of frog embryo development will be recorded as a set of 3-D, time-course images that trace this dynamic process. These images will then be made available for analysis in the classroom. The stunning images produced by LSCM will also be used to generate interest in the sciences among high school students and teachers through various outreach programs and the Arkansas education media centered here on the UCA campus. The University's enrollment of about 8,500 students is 62% female and 19% minority, with the later group steadily increasing in proportion over the last decade. Acquisition of the LSCM will strengthen faculty research capabilities, support strong undergraduate research programs, attract more women and minority students to careers in the sciences, increase public appreciation of science, and support programs in a historically under-supported geographic area.
