Quantitative Real time Thermal Cycler

The requested quantitative real-time thermal cycler will allow selected DNA and RNA sequences to be simultaneously amplified and quantified. The instrument will be housed in a multi-user laboratory, the Marine Gene Probe Laboratory, where it will be put to a wide variety of uses. The two main uses, however, will be genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a wide range of organisms, and quantifying the level of expression of particular genes. In combination, these two procedures will be used to study population structure, dispersal, evolutionary relationships and local adaptations in marine and aquatic organisms. This research will in turn be applied to fisheries management and conservation of fishes and aquatic invertebrates.