Cell and Immunobiology Core

The Cell and Immunobiology Core Facility provides custom production of monoclonal antibodies, flow cytometric services, and tissue culture reagents. The Core is located in the Medical Sciences Building and is hosted by the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology.

Charles W. Gehrke Proteomics Center

The Proteomics Center provides synthesizes custom peptides, sequences proteins, and provides HPLC and capillary electrophoretic analyses. The core is located in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center.

DNA Core

The DNA Core provides services in DNA sequencing, DNA fragment analysis, genotyping, genomic variation analysis, and gene expression. The DNA Core also maintains the campus Enzyme Freezer Program, which contains an extensive inventory of restriction enzymes, PCR and qPCR reagents, DNA and RNA purification kits, and various chemicals and biochemicals. Robotic instrumentation also is available for high throughput plasmid isolation, colony picking, and genomic library management. The core is located in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center and hosted by the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology.

Advanced Light Microscopy Core

The Advanced Light Microscopy Core is a resource for all types of light microscopy, immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization techniques, and general scientific image analysis and processing. Instrumentation available for client use includes two confocal microscopes, micro-injection system, epi-fluorescence stereoscope, conventional wide-field microscopes, paraffin microtome, cryostat, and ultramicrotome. The core is located in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Core

The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Core provides equipment maintenance and infrastructure support of research projects that require NMR or for investigators who want to use NMR for structural elucidation and study of chemical and biological reactions. Instrumentation at the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Core facility includes an 800 MHz NMR spectrometer. The core is located in the Chemistry Building and is hosted by the Molecular Biology Program.

Electron Microscopy Core

The Electron Microscopy Core supports research that requires scanning or transmission electron microscopy. Services include scanning and transmission electron microscopy, immunoelectron microscopy, x-ray microanalysis, digital imaging and analysis, and preparation of materials and biological specimens. The core is located in the Veterinary Medicine Building and is hosted by the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology.

Molecular Interactions Core

The Molecular Interactions Core provides instrumentation and faculty assistance with crystallography, dynamic light scattering, NMR, and peptide synthesis. Researchers who understand the important link between macromolecular structure and function can explore how to get structural information on proteins of interest and which method is best for their needs. The core is located in Schlundt Annex and is hosted by the Molecular Biology Program.

Animal Modeling Core

The Animal Modeling Core provides many services, including but not limited to chromosome counting, generation of transgenic mice on FVB and c57BI6 strains using client’s DNA, and genotyping assays. The laboratory facilities include dedicated laboratories for cell culture and micromanipulation. The core is located in the Veterinary Medicine Building and is hosted by the Division of Animal Sciences.

Ernie and Lotti Sears Plant Growth Facility

The Ernie and Lotti Sears Plant Growth Facility contains 12 greenhouses, walk-in growth chambers, and a long-term seed storage in rooms for the preservation of genetic resources. It is also home to the Plant Transformation Core facility. Sears is located next to Tucker Hall at the heart of campus.

East Campus Plant Growth Research Facility

The East Campus Plant Growth Research Facility was opened in 2019. This facility, which is walking distance from central campus, includes 24 greenhouses, including two extra tall ones, 27 growth chambers, cold seed storage rooms, a seed drying room, potting rooms, root washing and seed shelling areas, and a community shared lab for short-term work.

Plant Transformation Core

The Plant Transformation Core assists with plant tissue culture and transformation of soybean, maize, switchgrass, sorghum, tobacco, and Arabidopsis. The core is located in the Sears Plant Growth Facility.

Agricultural Experiment Station

The Agricultural Experiment Station operates a system of farms, centers, and forests around the state to meet the regional research and demonstration needs of agricultural producers and natural resource managers. Faculty in Biological Sciences have plots out at the Genetics Farm and Bradford Research and Extension Farm.

Tucker Hall Greenhouse

Tucker Hall Greenhouse serves as a teaching resource for faculty and graduate students in the Division of Biological Sciences. The greenhouse includes a desert room, a cactus garden, and a tropical room with a pond, as well as additional growth space. The greenhouse currently holds between 500-800 species of plants and is particularly strong in its holdings of Araceae, Cactaceae, and Apocynaceae. The greenhouse is regularly used by faculty and instructors teaching courses in Plant Systematics and Botany.

Tucker Prairie/Clair L. Kucera Research Station

Tucker Prairie is a 146-acre tract of virgin tall grass prairie in Callaway County, Missouri. This tract of land is the largest prairie remnant in mid-Missouri. It has never been plowed. The tract is dominated by the typical tall grass prairie species, including big bluestem, little bluestem, Indian grass, and prairie dropseed, but supports more than 250 species of plants. Tucker Prairie has an extensive subterranean clay pan that makes tree growth difficult, thus enhancing its unique qualities. The prairie is owned and managed by the Division of Biological Sciences in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation. It is used as a research tract principally by faculty and students of the University of Missouri but outside investigators are welcome.

Bioinformatics and Analytics Core

The Bioinformatics and Analytics Core serves the bioinformatics needs of researchers at MU. It provides custom web-enabled software development, analysis of high-throughput data, and assembly and annotation of genome-wide sequence data. The core is located in the Bond Life Sciences Center.

Enns Entomology Museum

The Enns Entomology Museum holds approximately 6 million specimens of insects, arachnids, and fossils. It is particularly strong in its holdings of aquatic insects of Ozark streams as well as the pinned collection of Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and slide-mounted Acarina. Loans of specimens are available to qualified scientists.