The purpose of this grant is obtain a Bio-Rad MRC-600 Confocal Laser Scanning Fluorescent Microscope and Imaging System. This is a """"""""user friendly"""""""" instrument that is well-suited to the multiple needs of a diverse NIH-funded user group. The University of Nevada is a developing institution that has experienced an explosion in the level of NIH research funding during past years. Maintaining this momentum is critically dependent on the acquisition of technology essential to existing and planned research activities. Presence of a confocal microscope will also have an impact on recruitment of new NIH-funded faculty who utilize confocal microscopy in their research. The user group represents diverse research interests that include intracellular transport of proteins through the secretory pathway (McCracken), the ultrastructural location of opsonic proteins in microbial capsules (Kozel), electrophysiology and cell-to-cell coupling in the GI system (Sanders), molecular biology of Cytomegaloviruses (St. Joer), hormone-receptor interactions with intracellular proteins (Buxton), the lethal mechanism of natural killer cells (Hudig), and morphogenesis of intracellular structures (Sutko). The specific applications of a confocal microscope are diverse, but the basic need for routine availability of services is common to all users. As a consequence, the requested instrument will be a core facility designed to function as a service to the user group. The administration of the Cellular and Molecular Biology program has committed the necessary resources to maintain a service contract on the instrument for its useable life, and a room will be remodeled for the specific use of this instrument as part of a $1,000,000 university capital improvement project to provide modern facilities for Cellular Molecular Biology.
