A state-of-the art phytotron, a research facility enabling the study of interactions between plants and their environment with unprecedented approaches. The phytotron consists of:
– Climatic chambers that allow growing and monitoring enabling the set-up of independent environmental conditions. It consists of single-layer rooms and cabinets for the isolation of plants in which temperature, relative humidity, day length, and light intensity will be continuously controlled, monitored, and logged.
– Chambers are equipped with an automatic watering system and allow monitoring of VOCs in real-time through air-tight connections to analytic instruments.
– To monitor plant growth and kinematic parameters, our equipment includes continued camera systems for kinematical analysis, and PTR-MS online detector for multiplexed real-time analyses of VOCs, simultaneously and separately on roots and shoots, at the highest resolution in the sub-ppb range.
– Video-recording above the ground: 3D motion analysis performed via a pair of RGB-infrared cameras is used to record stereo images of each plant for re-modeling of plant development in 3D.
– Video recording below the ground: 2D images are acquired by means of a minirhizotron camera system. The system allows for time-lapse, and HD video recording of roots development.
PTR-ToF MS
Our laboratory is equipped with a Vocus CI-TOF 2R Proton Transfer Reaction Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (PTR-ToF MS). The PTR-TOF is the most sensitive and complete electronic nose on the market, which is essential for each study /technology covering VOCs and their interactions. PTR-ToF MS allows highly-sensitive, rapid and non-invasive direct analysis of volatile organic compounds. Therefore the system can identify the full spectrum of volatile compounds emitted in a complex system. A high purity NitroGen series NG RACK 4U C nitrogen generator is included to produce high grade nitrogen for our laboratory applications and equipment.
Lab facilities for transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses
We have access to facilities needed for the implementation of the transcriptomic and metabolomics goals of the project. Facilities for molecular biology analyses include autoclaves, super- an ultra-centrifuges, thermocyclers, Real Time PCR devices, agarose and acrylamide gel electrophoresis systems, hybridisers, nanodrop spectrophotometers and Qubit fluorometers, Bioanalyzer, UV-Vis spectrophotometers and transilluminators, light and temperature controlled incubators, stereo- fluorescence and confocal microscopes, and sterile laminar hoods. For metabolomic analyses an MS/MS tandem spectrometer, GC chromatographs, ICP-OES spectrometer, and a liquid handling robot for multiplexed ISH are available.