Plant Pathology > Facilities

The Department of Plant Pathology is located in Webber, Boyce, and Fawcett Halls. Extensive research facilities are also located in many greenhouses and field plots on campus and elsewhere throughout the state. If you are interested in visiting our department, please stop by at our main office at 2317 Webber Hall, which is located on the east side of campus.

The department occupies up-to-date research laboratories that are suitable for conducting all types of modern research. Each faculty member has basic and specialized equipment required for their research programs. The laboratories are therefore well-equipped to perform a wide range of experimental procedures, including purifying viruses, cloning genes and sequencing DNA, detecting pathogens using polymerase chain reaction, rearing insects, characterizing the structure of plant metabolites, studying disease progression under a wide range of environmental conditions, etc.

Several general facilities are also maintained by the Department which are available to students and faculty in the individual laboratories. In addition to a media preparation and central glassware maintenance facility, and photography laboratories, several more specialized facilities are maintained, including:

 

Citrus Clonal Protection Program (CCPP)
UC Riverside Genomics Institute, Core Instrumentation Facility
Plant Transformation Research Core Facility
Bioinformatics Core
Central Facility for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis (CFAMM)
CEPCEB Proteomics Core Facility
CEPCEB Microscopy and Imaging Core Facility
Digital imaging center
Computer center
NMR facility
Greenhouse and field resources
Phytophthora Species Collection

Citrus Clonal Protection Program (CCPP)

This internationally recognized program provides researchers and growers with stocks of stable, disease-tested citrus fruit and rootstock varieties. Over 200 important varieties are maintained by the program which are routinely tested for diseases and evaluated horticulturally. In addition, through its disease testing and disease elimination capabilities, the CCPP provides a safe mechanism for importing citrus varieties from other countries. The CCPP thereby serves as a valuable and prestigious resource for scientists at UCR and throughout the world that are interested in variety improvement.

UC Riverside Genomics Institute, Core Instrumentation Facility

Core Instrumentation Facility (CIF) of UCR Genomics Institute supports the campus research enterprise with tools for handling genomic and cDNA libraries including robotic handling of colony picking, extraction and purification of plasmids from bacterial cultures in microtiter plates, handling of liquids for setting up PCR reactions and purification of products for DNA sequencing. For genotyping we offer sizing of amplified microsatellites and training in use of computer software for analyzing fragment data. For gene expression studies we have services and instrumentation for processing RNAs associated with use of commercial GeneChips from Affymetrix, robotic production of spotted microarrays and scanning after hybridization, and analysis including gene-chip image processing and data mining. For validation in gene expression studies we offer quantitative PCR. In image analysis we offer training in and use of a fluorescence imager/phosphorimager. For fluorescence cytometric and sorting applications with whole cells, we offer services employing our advanced cell sorter, the BD FACSAria.

 

Plant Transformation Research Core Facility

A new Plant Transformation Research Core (PTRC) has been established as part of the College of Natural and Agriculture Sciences (CNAS) under the directorship of Dr. Martha L. Orozco-Cardenas. The PTRC provides a state-of-the-art laboratory and the expertise for the genetic transformation of model plants for basic research or teaching purposes, and of crop species of economic interest in California.

 

Bioinformatics Core

The CEPCEB Bioinformatic Core houses several terminals and Linux server(s), which are dedicated to providing the community with state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools for high-throughput sequence analysis, data mining, integration of relational databases, etc. The center is supervised by a full-time Academic Coordinator, Dr. Thomas Girke. The role of this group is to actively develop research collaborations with other scientists, to keep them informed about new bioinformatics resources and to build user-specific data mining tools and databases.

 

Central Facility for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis (CFAMM)

The Central Facility for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis (CFAMM) is a universal research, service, and consulting laboratory for microscopic characterization of organic and inorganic materials, biological tissue and minerals applying electron beam techniques.

 

CEPCEB Proteomics Core Facility

Mass spectrometry (MS) based approaches have emerged as a major tool in proteomics research for characterization of cellular proteins. Our core facility lab is equipped with state-of-the-art mass spectrometers such as Q-TOF and QSTAR that are complementary in system configuration for high sequence coverage and can perform high throughput peptide mass analysis with high sensitivity and mass accuracy. Under the supervision of the Proteomics Academic Coordinator, Dr. Songqin Pan, the Center is developing MS capabilities for analysis of protein complexes, protein modifications, organelle proteomes, and discovery of protein-ligand interactions, protein markers for diseases and mutants.

 

CEPCEB Microscopy and Imaging Core Facility

Confocal microscopy is a robust technology for querying the structure and function of living cells, producing optical sections of a sample at the theoretical limit of light resolution. This benefit is also its weakness, since only a tiny volume of sample space is visible at any time. The microscopy core facility provides a comprehensive suite of confocal microscopes, with a wide selection of special features which make it easier to navigate specimen space, and capture the most important data. Under the supervision of a full-time, imaging expert and Academic Coordinator, Dr. David Carter, the Center is developing high throughput imaging capability, and is pioneering a range of optical imaging applications for use in plant systems. Three confocal microscopes, a laser ablation system, an imaging analysis system and two dissecting scopes are available for demanding and routine imaging.

 

Digital imaging center

The Department maintains a large-format, state-of-the art phosphoimager system (for radioactivity detection) plus a ccd camera system (for imaging visible samples plus chemifluorescent, chemiluminescent, or fluorescent samples such as gels and blots). Both are integrated with sophisticated image analysis software. Hand-held ccd cameras are also available for field and laboratory work.

 

Computer center

In addition to equipment housed in individual laboratories, a central facility is maintained containing Macintosh and PC computers, flat-bed and slide scanners, and slide-making equipment. In addition, portable computers and computer projection equipment are available.

 

NMR facility

The Department houses a high field NMR Spectrometer with a superconducting magnet. This instrument is configured as a user-friendly spectrometer for routine 1H and 13C spectroscopy, and to carry out a full range of state-of-the-art NMR experiments by computer-controlled Fourier transform spectroscopy.

 

Greenhouse and field resources

Our facilities include a large number of modern air-conditioned greenhouses, many with sophisticated filter-air systems, covering more than 26,000 square feet. Several lathhouses for shaded outdoor plantings and an extensive screenhouse for insect-free culture are also available. Headhouse facilities include potting and service areas plus a large number of controlled environment growth chambers and temperature-controlled tanks for plant growth. Support personnel provide cultural care, pest management, and maintenance of the entire greenhouse facility. Extensive farmland is available as well, on campus and elsewhere.

 

Phytophthora Species Collection

The Department houses the largest collection of isolates of Phytophthora in the world. Cultures are preserved under liquid nitrogen to maintain their long-term viability. Currently, the collection consists of over 9500 accessions of over 50 species and represents a valuable resource for scientists both at Riverside and throughout the world who are interested in the taxonomy, genetics, and pathology of these organisms.