Access

This facility is designed specifically for the controlled growth of transgenic plants. As a result there are special procedures in place to stop the release of transgenic pollen and seed into the environment. Before you get access to this facility you must first go over these procedures with one of the "GMO safety officers" at the two departments, currently Ove Nilsson  (SLU) and Stefan Jansson (UmU), and sign a form stating that you have read and understood the rules.

 

N.B.: Failure to comply with these rules may result in your access to this facility being revoked.

 

Arabidopsis growth rooms

These rooms are set up with standard growth conditions: approx. 23ºC constant temperature and either short-day (8h) or long-day (16h). These rooms are set up on a rotating basis so that once each room is full it is closed and no new plants are put into the room until ALL plants have completed their growth cycle. The rooms are then steam-cleaned before being re-opened for a new cycle of plants.

 

Plants can be removed from these rooms for sampling and other experimental reasons throughout their growth cycle – but once plants have begun to flower they MUST NOT be removed from the high security facility for any reason. Furthermore, while it is OK to take plants out of these rooms for experimental reasons - under no circumstances are plants to be shifted between growth rooms. If plants need to be moved for seed collection they can be taken to the greenhouse set aside for Arabidopsis on floor 5.

 

Watering

Watering of plants growing in these rooms is generally the responsibility of the individual.

 

Insecticide treatment routines

Treatment for insects is the responsibility of the facility manager (). To control ongoing problems with thrip and fungus gnat (blomflugor) infestations in the controlled growth facility, please observe the following routines:

1.      In the growth rooms located on floors 3, 4 and 5, you must flag ALL new pots with a RED tag on the day you put the pots into the growth room. You do not need to write anything on this tag; it is only to alert Britt-Marie that the pot needs to be treated.

2.      Once per week Britt-Marie will drench all flagged pots with “Confidor WG70”, which is a systemic insecticide. She will then remove the RED tag.

3.       Britt-Marie will give subsequent treatments as required – as either a spray or drench as appropriate.

 

Obviously, this means that no one should use red tags for any other purpose when growing plants within the controlled growth facility.

 

Transgenic plants being grown on floor 2 should still be marked with a red tag as usual.

 

Arabidopsis infertility

A number of groups have experienced problems with low seed production. It is possible that this is caused by inadequate nutrition. A concentrated nutrient solution is available in the lab on floor 5 – along with instructions for diluting it prior to use. For optimum growth, you should fertilize your plants once per week. For seed production, you should certainly fertilize your plants at least once just as they begin to flower.

 

Soil

At present, we are purchasing different soil for poplar (Torv) and Arabidopsis (Blomjord). The small bags we use for Arabidopsis growth is expensive “ecologically friendly” soil – and hence prone to contain more bugs. Britt-Marie will not be purchasing this anymore – and neither should anyone else. Vermiculite and perlite are available to mix with the soil to lighten it and make it more suitable for Arabidopsis.

 

Plant maintenance

Users are responsible for maintaining their plants. Flowering plants should be either taped to sticks or bagged to control the spread of seed and to minimize the risk of contaminating other peoples trays.

 

Activities such as seed collecting, potting and plant transformation should only be done at the designated areas in the laboratory on floor 4 to prevent the possibility of contamination. Once you have finished working at an area it should be cleaned thoroughly either by sweeping up, using the hand held vacuums or with a cloth. Under no circumstances should there be any stray seed or soil left on bench tops.

 

 

Waste handling

All garbage containing transgenic materials MUST be put in special double garbage bags. Before being thrown into the container (found in the annex to the growth facility on floor 3), the garbage bag must be marked with "GMO tape".

 

Identification

All material in the growth facility must be CLEARLY (to others, not just for the sake of the user) identified both with the name of the person running the experiment and the research group. Material not readily identifiable may be thrown out without warning and without consultation.

 

Costs

Charges for these growth rooms is based on a flat fee per tray per growth cycle. The rooms can take 14 trays per shelf at 6 shelves per room.

Charges have been set at:

 

Long-day rooms: 100:- per tray

Short-day rooms: 150:- per tray

Arabidopsis greenhouse Floor 5: 100:- per tray per 3 month cycle

 

Sign up sheets with the names of all registered facility users will be placed on the doors when a room is open for use and you simply need to mark these sheets with the number of trays you have in the room.

 

Poplar greenhouses Floor 5: charges as per Wallenberg greenhouse.

 

20:- per table per day with watering

 

This also equates to 1:- per tray per day (or 100:- per tray per 3 month growth cycle for Arabidopsis)