This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This Major Research Instrumentation-Recovery and Reinvestment (MRI-R2) award funds the acquisition of a high-speed sorting flow cytometer for multi-user environmental microbiology research at the Duke University Marine Laboratory. Flow cytometry offers distinct advantages over other techniques, including: the ability to count and characterize large numbers of cells in short times (~50,000 cells/sec); the ability to simultaneously measure multiple properties (size, color or specific genetic (DNA/RNA) or protein constituents using probes) of individual cells and therefore populations; and the ability to sort and collect individual cells or populations of cells for additional downstream analyses. Research enabled by this instrument includes the enumeration and genetic and biochemical characterization of marine microbes, the evaluation of marine and freshwater microbes in the context of environmental pollutants, the analysis of cells harvested from higher organisms of interest to conservation, and the study of algae for the renewable and carbon-neutral production of biofuels and animal protein. The cytometer enables modern environmental microbiology research at a satellite campus of Duke University, and provides access and infrastructure for other regional universities with similar research interests. Beyond developing research infrastructure, the instrument facility is integral to teaching at Duke University and neighboring institutions, allowing incorporation of cutting edge techniques in undergraduate, professional masters and graduate student education. A list of undergraduate and graduate courses at Duke University that directly benefit from this facility includes Biological Oceanography, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Environmental Molecular Tools, and Analysis of Ocean Ecosystems among others. The facility is also to be made available for undergraduate independent study research as well as thesis research by graduate students. Results from the studies enabled by the new equipment will be disseminated by student and faculty presentations at regional and national meetings, and through publication in peer-reviewed journals.
The goal of this major research equipment grant was to acquire an advanced flow cytometer for use in single cell through community level characterization designed for use by a broad user base in the microbiological sciences and to train users and potential users in its operation and capabilities to expand the use flow cytometry in the sciences. With major funding from NSF and additional funding from Duke University, we acquired a BD Influx flow cytometer that is a capable of quantifying and characterization single cells (and populations of cells) using a multiple laser and detection based system. The instrument is installed and housed at the Duke Marine Laboratory, but is available for broader use by other academics, government groups and private companies through the Environmental Cytometry Facility. As part of the new instrument acquisition and utilization, several graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and university faculty have been trained in the use of the instrument and on the application of flow cytometry in their research. Additionally, many undergraduates have been exposed to this cutting edge approach via independent study projects that made use of the facility as well as structured class tours and descriptions of the facility. The broader public has been provided access and demonstrations of the facility through open-house events designed to demystify the technology. Following instrument acquisition and user training, the core group of investigators has used the instrument to advance microbial sciences in a diverse range of fields from biofuels to oceanography and coral reefs to host-microbe interaction among others in fields representing biology, engineering and marine sciences among others at multiple universities. Thus, through instrument acquisition, installation, user training, student education and public outreach, we have advanced the use of single cell analyses by flow cytometry in a variety of scientific disciplines. The recipients of this grant thank the NSF and the American people for supporting this project.
