Award Abstract #0216183
Acquisition of Affymetrix GeneChip Microarray Instrumentation

NSF Org:	DBI Division of Biological Infrastructure
Initial Amendment Date:	June 14, 2002
Latest Amendment Date:	June 14, 2002
Award Number:	0216183
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Helen G. Hansma DBI Division of Biological Infrastructure BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	June 15, 2002
Expires:	May 31, 2006 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$250000
Investigator(s):	Roger Wise rpwise@iastate.edu (Principal Investigator) Steven Whitham (Co-Principal Investigator) Christopher Tuggle (Co-Principal Investigator) James Reecy (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	Iowa State University 1138 Pearson AMES, IA 50011 515/294-5225
NSF Program(s):	MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION
Field Application(s):
Program Reference Code(s):	BIOT, 9184
Program Element Code(s):	1189

ABSTRACT

A grant has been awarded to Iowa State University to acquire instrumentation for the analysis of DNA oligonucleotide microarrays that allow the parallel evaluation of up to 22,500 genes in a single experiment. This system will enable researchers at ISU to employ state-of-the-art genomics technology to a variety of plant, animal, and human research topics including; the molecular characterization of genes coincident with disease, response to biotic or abiotic stresses, or cellular development.

Oligonucleotide-based microarrays can already be purchased which have been designed for genome analysis of a number of different species. Research programs at Iowa State University that will be most advantaged by this system are those investigating questions in development, metabolic networking, biotic and abiotic stresses, and that involve Arabidopsis, Triticeae (barley/wheat), yeast, Drosophila, C. elegans, mouse, rat, cattle, or human microarrays. A typical experiment could involve an organism infected with a pathogen compared to a control sample that was not infected. Messenger RNA would be extracted from both samples and then used to probe the oligonucleotide microarrays. This RNA contains the genetic code for the specific genes that are active during pathogen infection. The new instrumentation facilitates highly quantitative assessment of the expression levels of each of the 22,500 genes in the two samples, thus, comparison of the two sets of data would point out genes that are correlated with disease responses.

The use of this technology will make it possible to systematically study how genes contribute to complex phenotypes ranging from disease, response to external stimuli, and normal growth and development. The rapid discovery of new genes associated with such complex traits is expected to lead to novel discoveries in medicine and agriculture. Another mission of ISU is to train graduate students and undergraduate students in contemporary biology, and it is essential that they become proficient in the theory and use of modern genomics tools. This instrument will be made available to graduate students conducting research in the departments of Agronomy, Animal Science, Biochemistry, Botany, Plant Pathology, and Zoology & Genetics as well as in the interdepartmental graduate programs in Genetics, Plant Physiology, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology. In addition, several students from a NSF-funded REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates, Undergraduate Research Experience in Molecular Biotechnology and Genomics) program will have access to this advanced technology each summer. The REU program focuses on students from traditional minority universities and students from small Midwestern liberal arts colleges. Half of the students are members of under-represented groups and half are women. Thus, the instrumentation system will be integrated into both the graduate and undergraduate education programs at ISU.

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