The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation established a core laboratory for DNA sequencing approximately three years ago. The current facility is staffed by two skilled research assistants and consists of two ABI 377 DNA sequencers. The current instruments, run at capacity, are barely adequate to deal with the number of sequencing projects within our Foundation. Thus, this shared equipment request for a new MJ BaseStation DNA sequencer, yielding several hundred sequences every 24 hours with less hands on labor than with the 377s, will bolster our sequencing capacity and provide the core DNA sequencing support for our projected needs for the foreseeable future. The specific research projects outlined in this proposal, and requiring additional sequencing capacity, address immunoglobulin diversity at the level of V(D)J rearrangement/somatic mutation and molecular mechanisms of mucosal immunity; fundamental mechanisms involved in blood coagulation with an emphasis on EPCR and protein C structure-function relationships; the regulation of leukocyte trafficking by the adhesion selections in response to tissue injuries; and the elucidation of the etiology of autoimmune disease. Moreover, the newly established Microarray Facility at OMRF, serving many investigators involved in this proposal along with conducting its own independent research projects, has created a critical need for additional DNA sequencing capacity. These five research projects, therefore, exemplify a diverse core of investigators which, in conjunction with the other research projects described in the proposal, represent needs for DNA sequencing that are projected to escalate beyond our current capacity in the coming year. Additionally, both NIH and NSF funded investigators have participated in this application. The acquisition of an additional sequencer to our current DNA Sequencing Facility will have a great impact on the quantity and quality of ongoing research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
