Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The requested Perkin-Elmer LS-55 Fluorescence Spectrometer will be used in the measurement of enzyme activities, determination of metabolite concentrations in subcellular compartments of plant cells, determination of kinetic parameters of enzymes and calculation of metabolic fluxes in the cell. The instrument will be placed in the Laboratory of Plant Metabolism at the Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland. The LS-55 Fluorescence Spectrometer is capable of measuring diverse biophysical/biochemical parameters and is therefore extremely versatile. It provides high-resolution readouts with low background noise, which are extremely accurate and reproducible, characteristics essential for state of the art research on plant/microbial metabolism and bioenergetics. It is a powerful tool for the investigation of enzyme kinetics and calculation of metabolic fluxes based on the metabolic control theory. It will allow us to evaluate the intensities of cellular metabolic pathways in stress-induced processes under different conditions. The requested piece of equipment is an integral component of most physiological and biochemical laboratories aimed at understanding the operation of cellular organelles involved in bioenergetics, such as mitochondria and peroxisomes. The availability of the LS-55 Fluorescent Spectrometer will promote research on adaptation of plants and microorganisms to environmental stresses. This research has a major ecological, industrial and evolutionary significance.