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

The requested automated liquid handling and extraction infrastructure will be set up as a multi-user, interdisciplinary centralized facility coordinated by full-time U Windsor staff. The infrastructure will support diverse extraction applications; 1) NUCLEIC ACID: Extraction of DNA and RNA is fundamental to many research programs focusing on conservation, behaviour, adaptation, and evolution. The requested equipment will provide high through-put DNA/RNA extraction capabilities for large-scale parentage analysis, gene flow and migration estimation, invasive species identification, population divergence analysis, hybridization identification, and gene transcription analyses targeting the effects of environmental change on homeostasis. 2) PROTEIN/LIPID: The quantification of the concentration of specific target proteins or lipids in living organisms provides valuable information of the health of individuals and the viability of populations (e.g., cortisol, carotenoids, testosterone, fatty acids). However, the extraction of such target molecules from tissue or blood samples is typically labour-intensive. Automation of the process will allow the applicants to increase sample size and thus resolution in their ecological and environmental studies. 3) STABLE ISOTOPE/CONTAMINANTS: Automated extraction has not been widely implemented in Stable Isotope (SI) or contaminant studies; however, the need for larger sample sizes and broad geographical replication is providing a need for such protocols. The proposed equipment will e used to develop novel high-throughput extraction protocols for application in foodweb and environmental studies. Faculty and students from U Windsor, as well as other southern Ontario Universities will have access to the equipment which will support existing research programs, recruitment and retention of faculty, and timely completion of graduate research.