Acquisition of a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope for Cell Biology and Biophysics

Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

Acquisition of a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope for Cell Biology and Biophysics Project Summary A grant has been awarded to Dr Peter J.S. Smith of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, for the acquisition of a confocal laser scanning microscope and image analysis system with multiphoton excitation capability. The system is to be housed in the MBL Central Microscopy Facility, making it available to a wide community of resident researchers, including scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, visiting and summer investigators, as well as by many of the graduate- and postdoctoral-level education courses offered at the MBL Several proposed research projects have already been formulated by the investigating team, spanning basic biology to the biomedical sciences. Amongst the resident community of the MBL these include: 1. An examination of vesicle trafficking in trypanosomes. Part of a larger project dealing infectious diseases. 2. The role of Ca/CaM kinase II dynamics in LTP. Part of a larger project investigating the foundations of memory; 3. The physiology of single-celled eukaryotic extremophiles. Part of a larger project to investigate adaptive evolution and protein expression/modification. 4. Multidrug resistance in pathogens. 5. Architectural dynamics of the mitotic spindle. A continuing project on live imaging of cellular dynamics. 6. Calcium oscillations in neurons. A component of several ongoing projects looking at calcium activity domains in the cell membrane and cytosol. 7. The effects of environmental pollutants on neuronal development. A key issue being studied by MBL investigators in the field of toxicology. 8. The mechanisms of iron trafficking in erythroid cells which forms part of a new mitochondrial program initiated at the MBL. Scientists at the MBL have had a long interest in the study of cellular dynamics, which by necessity requires observations on living systems. The microscope to be chosen maximizes this ability. System components were chosen to provide 1) capability for confocal fluorescent imaging of different fluorophores in the visible spectrum; 2) multiphoton excitation; 3) emission fingerprinting for simultaneous recording of multiple fluorophores with closely-spaced emission spectra; 4) a sufficient range of objective lenses to enable both structural studies and experiments on the physiology of living cells; 5) precisely localization fluorescent-labeled structures; 6) temperature control of live cells under study; 7) software to use fully the data acquisition capabilities of the confocal; and 8) software for image analysis and display. The research activities proposed in the grant reflect the diversity of scientific interest amongst the MBL community as well as outreach in research and education. The new microscope will be an invaluable addition the MBL facilities for cutting edge research. Its availability to residents and visitors alike (over 200 seasonal investigators visit the MBL for research purposes on an annual basis) will insure a high impact and use for the grant awarded.