An award is made to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri, to acquire a Leica SP-8 confocal laser scanning microscope that will be housed in the institute's Integrated Microscopy Facility. Scientists at the Center (a not-for-profit research institute) are engaged in research that strives to enhance the nutritional content of plants, increase agricultural production to create a sustainable food supply, reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizer, and develop new and sustainable biofuels. The SP-8 will serve this research by providing the most current technology for imaging cell biology phenomena, providing a basis for understanding the role of molecular biology and biochemistry in cell function. The instrument includes innovative, highly sensitive detectors required for imaging dim signals in plant tissue that has interfering signals from indigenous fluorescent molecules, and high speed scanners that help preserve the viability of cells subjected to long-term time lapse imaging and also permit imaging of high speed events. Additional features of the SP-8 are its prism-selected detection windows and acousto-optical beam splitter, which increase selectivity and sensitivity of detection. The microscope will immediately have a profound impact on research projects from twelve investigators. These projects include the investigation of factors affecting infection of plants by viruses, understanding the role of circadian clock proteins and of G-protein complexes in plant cells, analysis of the distribution of photosynthetic enzymes in bundle sheath and mesophyll cells in monocot crops of differing photosynthetic types, dynamic protein localization studies in the green algae Chlamydomonas and Volvox, production of terpene-based biofuels, analysis of transcription factor networks, lipid metabolism and signaling in plant and algal cells, and the mechanism by which plant defensins cause the death of invading fungal pathogens.
The Integrated Microscopy Facility is an integral participant in community outreach and scientific training efforts that have made the Center a recognized leader in science education in the St. Louis region. Several levels of activity that will make use of the SP-8 for training, education and community outreach are planned. NSF/REU funded undergraduate interns will participate in projects that make use of the SP-8. High school students from under-served local communities and students from community colleges will be involved in independent research under the guidance of Dr. Terry Woodford- Thomas (Director of the Danforth Center's Science Education and Outreach Program) who will incorporate imaging-based promoter screening into a plant biotechnology project pipeline. Programs targeting K-12 students and the lay public will work with the microscopy facility to provide experiences in imaging living plant cells in 3D and 4D. Projects aimed at professional development for high school teachers will include generating a new gallery of 3D images and 4D time lapse movies (for flip books) that will be packaged as a supplemental teaching guide, "Into the Cell", for use in middle and high school science classrooms. These images will also be put on display at the St. Louis Science Center (which receives over a million visitors every year) and in other exhibits that have received popular public acclaim. In summary, this project will benefit society by supporting research that promotes sustainable agriculture, nutrition, biofuel development, and reduction in environmentally deleterious use of pesticides and fertilizers. In addition, the outreach activities derived from imaging plant cells with this microscope will serve to enrich the scientific literacy of the public.
