This application requests funds for the purchase of a Bio-Rad confocal system integrated with a Nikon microscope. The seven major users of this facility are junior and senior faculty in the Department of Biology at the University of Rochester, and all are funded from national granting agencies (NSF, NIH, USDA). The current programs of the users involve carrying out studies on fate specification, cell-cell interactions and morphogenesis in developing organisms (Drosophila, sea urchins, Arabidopsis); the role of cytoskeletal elements in cellular and organismal functions; the mechanisms of nuclear transport; and regulation of genome packaging. These projects are unified in using molecular, genetic and/or biochemical techniques to ask how specific gene products influence cellular and developmental processes. In order to carry out quantitation, dynamic analysis and co-localization studies, all of these projects now require a confocal microscope system which is: 1) reliable and easily used by a number of individuals; 2) has multiple types of optics; 3) has flexibility in the excitation and emission wavelengths; and 4) has excellent resolution in the Z and X/Y axes. Image analysis software that allows further quantification and manipulation of the confocal data is also requested. As members of the Department of Biology, all of the users are also involved in education of undergraduate and graduate students in both formal and informal settings. In the context of each of the research projects described, the requested instrumentation will be used by graduate students and postdoctorals in training. The instrumentation will also be employed for demonstrations in undergraduate courses and outreach programs, and for hands-on experiences- in advanced laboratory courses and independent undergraduate research projects.
