Centralized Multi-User Laboratory of Functional Genomics applied to agriculture, animal husbandry and agroenergy

Abstract

The objective of this proposal is the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment for the sequencing and genotyping of DNA; for the sequencing and quantification of proteins; for the identification of biomolecules; and for bioinformatics. The equipment would be employed in the ESALQ Centralized Multi-User Laboratory of Functional Genomics Applied to Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Agroenergy. This is a joint venture by a number of educational and research institutes, headed by the ESALQ, to construct a facility for the study of genomics and functional genomics. The facility will be open to researchers at various institutions of higher learning, USP, UNESP, UNICAMP, UNIFESP and UFSCAR, research institutes (EMBRAPA, IAC), companies (Agroceres, Suzano), business incubators, and the Piracicaba Technology Hub, together with those at other institutions within the scientific community of the state of São Paulo. The Multi-User Laboratory project has already secured R$ 2 million in funding from the FINEP - Financing Agency for Studies and Projects grant n. 35 0655/05,41 1036/06, 0119/07,0114/08) for the construction of the building that will house the multi-user equipment, the researchers, and the support technicians. The Multi-User Laboratory will be a magnet for the development of research (basic and applied) and the training of personnel, as well as for the technological development of agriculture, forest management, animal husbandry, and agroenergy in the state of São Paulo. The ESALQ Multi-User Laboratory will also be charged with the important mission of supporting and providing services to the universities and to companies within the technology park, making it possible to disseminate knowledge and technologies, as well as to obtain additional resources for the maintenance of the equipment and the physical plant. The acquisition of the equipment listed below will initially benefit 29 associated research projects and 12 complementary projects, of which several are funded by FAPESP (5 Young Researchers in Emerging Centers Program projects; 8 Thematic Projects; 1 Research Partnership for Technological Innovation project; 1 Centers for Research, Innovation and Dissemination Program project; 5 Program for Research on Bioenergy projects) and one is funded by EMBRAPA. (AU)