We will acquire and operate instruments for a high-throughput automated plant molecular genetics facility. The facility will comprise of an automated DNA sequencer, a DNA extraction robot, a laboratory workstation, a thermocycler, a phosphoimager, and supporting computers. The facility will primarily provide three areas of research support: DNA sequencing, quantitative analysis of gene expression, and genetic analysis. The facility will impact at least 24 productive research programs in nine departments that study plant molecular genetics, ranging from fundamental molecular genetics on model species to applied crop improvement programs. We are currently severely limited by the lack of this instrumentation. All these studies would benefit from this facility. Several experiments are impossible without it. Reliable generation of accessible DNA sequence data is a fundamental component for many biological investigations, particularly gene identification and characterization. Accurate measurement of gene expression is critical to studies on gene function. Molecular markers have now been developed for most of the species under study; these should now be utilized. This facility will allow a scale of experimentation that would be otherwise impossible in an academic setting. Automated DNA extraction as well as template preparation and analysis will allow large numbers of samples to be run with accuracy. Both the UC Davis Office of Research and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences are committed to developing this facility as demonstrated by their level of financial support. Their contribution, together with that from Keygene, constitutes a 50% match to the amount requested from NSF. The College will provide technical support for a total of five years, two years beyond the funding period. We will continue to develop and apply efficient molecular marker technologies. In particular, we are collaborating with Applied Biosystems to analyze Ampli fied Fragment Length Polymorphisms as codominant markers on their instruments. This will increase the utility of their machines and allow hundreds of markers to be analyzed on many individuals. It will also reduce the generation of radioactive waste.
