The proposed instrumentation project requests funds to begin development an optical biosensor system for marine microbial population and process studies. The biosensor system will employ fluorescence detection to measure the hybridization of nucleic acids to probe molecules bound to the surface of an optical fiber. The fiber-optic system will be used to assay for the abundance of specific genes, the expression of those genes, or the physiological status of cells within mixed microbial communities. Samples from seawater and marine sediments will be analyzed in the lab by extracting nucleic acids and assaying for one or more nucleic acid targets. Ultimately, the PI's seek the capacity for automated measurements of bacterial dynamics, activity and gene expression in situ.
