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

The Department of Biology at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) has taught and approached research questions from an integrative perspective for many years.  This approach attempts to link processes at different levels of organization, from the molecular up to whole organisms and populations.  Traditionally, the hands-on experience gained by students in teaching and research laboratories at WLU has been gained primarily through whole organism biology-based studies.  This has changed recently, however, as the expertise of the department has expanded to include such disciplines as microbiology and molecular biology, areas in which knowledge is required for a truly integrative approach to biology. The expansion is evident as much in the types of courses now being offered as in the molecular approaches that are now being integrated into many of the faculty's research programs.  The equipment requested, a DNA sequencer with AFLP and microsatellite genotyping capabilities, will support the research programs of the five co-applicants (in addition to other current and likely future departmental researchers), and will contribute to the training of undergraduate and graduate students in the techniques of molecular biology, as it will also be used in a number of teaching laboratories.  The use of the system for teaching purposes is a requirement of its acquisition, as the requested funds represent matching funds for a Genomic Education Matching Funds grant from Li-Cor Biosciences, which is aimed at supporting the education and training of undergraduate students in molecular biology and related fields. As part of, and in addition to, its role in undergraduate training, the system will support research programs in plant physiology and plant-microbe interactions, the genetics of plant development, the reproductive behaviour and ecology of birds, plant phylogeny and biodiversity, and molecular plant cell biology.  Therefore, the system will play a significant role in supporting and enhancing a broad range of research topics as well as in maintaining and enhancing the department's philosophy of approaching biology from an integrative perspective.