MRI:Acquiring a Next Generation Sequencing Instrument for Towson University

Towson University, Towson MD

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Acquiring a Next-Generation Sequencing Instrument for Towson University Intellectual Merit An award is made to Towson University to acquire the instrumentation that will allow the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology to a large number of research programs involving graduate and undergraduate students. The research programs that will be supported are collaborative and range across biological sub-disciplines. Three research programs are described to exemplify the types of research programs that will be supported. Project one will use NGS for comparative analyses of RNA sequence data to uncover shared molecular-genetic mechanisms of wood evolution. In particular, the project seeks to explore evolutionary-developmental mechanisms responsible for multiple, parallel evolutionary origins of succulent woods, such as those found in the crop plants turnip and rutabaga. Project two will use NGS to develop evolutionary forecasting of pathogens. Evolutionary forecasting of pathogens calculates the probability of emergence or predominance of particular strains in association with certain diseases. The validity of the "high risk" designation for a strain will be experimentally explored in vivo by using a highly plastic veterinary pathogen (rather than a human pathogen) with an established experimental infection system in a proof-of-concept study. The parasitic bacterial species Mycoplasma synoviae relies on attachment to host cells to establish infection using a single allele of a multigene family, vlhA. Exploration of unexpressed copies of vlhA across strains by NGS is essential to the generation of predictive models of strain virulence. Evolutionary forecasts of M. synoviae strain virulence based on VlhA adhesins will then be validated in vivo. Project three will use NGS to develop and analyze microsatellite loci in house wrens. This will enable a test of the ?compatible alleles? hypothesis in the house wren by examining the prediction made by that hypothesis that extra-pair males that successfully father young will be less related genetically to females than are within-pair males. The use of next-generation sequencing technology will allow this prediction to be examined at a scale and depth not previously possible. Broader Impacts The acquisition of instrumentation for next-generation sequencing will facilitate the following: 1) increased faculty-student production of peer-reviewed, published, and fundable research, 2) increased interdisciplinary research collaboration within and beyond the institution, 3) increased student research opportunities using cutting-edge technologies, 4) increased recruitment of high quality undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members, 5) increased opportunities for high-quality instruction on modern instrumentation in advanced lab courses, 6) increased training opportunities for minorities and high school teachers through established outreach programs. The ability to produce high sequence volumes at low cost enabled by the award will enhance the research done by the diverse Towson students and faculty, and the subsequent education of generations of students in K-12 education.