A grant has been awarded to San Francisco State University (SFSU), under the direction of Dr Cynthia Cohen to provide funds for a capillary DNA analyzer for sequencing and fragment analysis and a real-time PCR machine for the Romberg Tiburon Center (RTC) as part of an ongoing plan to develop the joint-use Molecular Genetics Laboratory for RTC resident and visiting scientists and students. The requested equipment will greatly enhance current capabilities for nucleic acid analysis onsite at RTC and move RTC's molecular capabilities significantly forward to a modern laboratory for marine molecular research at scales of organization from the subcellular to ecosystem. Real-time PCR will allow immediate analysis of gene expression and changes in community composition, and sequencing and fragment analysis capability will open doors to RTC users in ecological and evolutionary genetics, molecular evolution, and phylogenetics. Capillary DNA analyzers and real-time PCR machines are becoming a regular part of modern molecular biological laboratories as their versatility and expediency have been proven in numerous environmental scientific studies. Access to these sophisticated molecular techniques will significantly enhance current work at RTC in microbial ecology, invasion biology, population biology, biological oceanography, symbioses, ecosystem function, and life history studies.
