This proposal requests funds to obtain an ultracentrifuge, a UV.VIS spectrophotometer, a liquid scintillation counter and an HPLC system. All items will be used in several research programs that involve undergraduate students in the research. The projects include: (a) the regulation of genes involved in cell differentiation in cyanobacteria, (b) evolution of flavoniods in the plant family Onagracieae, (c) biochemistry and molecular biology of pine wilt nematode, (d) the role of nutritional components of saliva in social evolution of wasps, (e) ecology and physiology of tropical understory plants and (f) carbohydrate and energy metabolism in intestinal parasites.
