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By Maria Lironi
How can we make trees more resistant to pine beetles? That’s one of the questions scientists at the UVic’s Genome BC Proteomics Centre hope to answer with new million-dollar equipment the federal government is helping to purchase.
The equipment will be used for metabolite research, the study and identification of metabolic products of cells that may be used to distinguish a disease state from a healthy state. Metabolomics is used in a number of areas including the study of plant health.
“Metabolomics in plants is extremely complex compared to humans,” explains Proteomics Centre Director Dr. Christoph Borchers. “While plants have tens of thousands of metabolics, humans have only 4,000. The equipment can provide a comprehensive analysis of the metabolites that can kill the mountain pine beetle. Once we know what’s making the trees vunerable we can work on breeding the right trees.”
Western Economic Diversification Canada is providing $600,000 to buy the machines and the centre will provide $400,000. Equipment includes a high-resolution, high-performance liquid chromatographer, a hybrid mass spectrometer, a robotic liquid handling workstation and bioinformatics data storage software.
“Our government understands that investments such as this one will lead to discoveries that not only build educational and professional opportunities for Canadians, but also lead to greater prosperity for us all,” says the Honourable Rona Ambrose, president of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and minister of Western Economic Diversification. “The metabolic analysis conducted with this new equipment secures the Proteomics Centre’s status as a Canadian leader in the life sciences sector.”
“We’re delighted to have this support as it will expand the centre’s proteomic and metabolomic analytical service capabilities for international researchers; increase training opportunities for our students; and stimulate technology transfer to the marketplace,” says UVic President David Turpin.
The UVic Genome BC Proteomics Centre has been providing protein analytical services to more than 200 academic, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and government laboratories worldwide since 1982, making the Proteomics Centre the longest operating protein core facility in Canada. Supported by a collaborative relationship between the University of Victoria and Genome British Columbia, the centre is a not-for-profit proteomics facility that performs research and operates on a fee-for-service, cost-recovery finance model.
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