Germany – Microscopes – Konfokales-Laser-Scanning-Mikroskop

The biosciences, particularly plant sciences at the Department of Biology of the FAU, have a strong focus on cellular and molecular biology research. At the Chair of Molecular Plant Physiology, membrane biology is a central theme. The focus is primarily on membrane-localized receptors, membrane toxins, plasmodesmata, sugar transporters, and calcium channels. Of particular interest are the high-resolution subcellular localization, the molecular function, the dynamics of protein distribution, and possible complex formations with other proteins. The system to be procured should be primarily used to address physiological and cellular biology questions in non-transparent specimens. The majority of the samples consist of multi-layered plant living tissues, which express several fluorophores or are loaded with different mobile fluorescent dyes. Since plants also contain various autofluorescent substances such as chlorophyll or lignin, a system is needed that can detect multiple emissions simultaneously and also has high sensitivity in deeper tissue layers with the best possible signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, the cellular biology questions require high scanning speeds and modules for very high-resolution, linear imaging. This should provide quantifiable information about the internal structures of organelles and about processes in and on the plasma membrane, for example, about the organization and dynamics of proteins such as membrane toxins or receptor proteins in complexes and membrane domains.