Facilities & Equipment

The PBL comprises >4,900 sq ft of laboratory space with a 1,200 sq ft centralized transgenics core and a 400 sq ft media lab, plus access to greenhouses, field sites, and a university genomics facility. Spaces support plant tissue culture, transformation, genome editing, molecular analysis, and imaging.

Tissue Culture & Core Spaces

Twenty laminar flow hoods for plant tissue culture

Eight student six-foot laminar flow hoods (teaching/demo)

Media preparation lab (400 sq ft) with sterilization and prep equipment

Incubators (various sizes), orbital shakers, water baths

Autoclaves (on-site and nearby), fume hoods

Growth rooms and controlled plant growth chambers

URI greenhouse and field space access for grow-out and analysis

Molecular Biology & Analysis

Super-speed and ultracentrifuge, microfuges, benchtop centrifuges

Vertical & horizontal electrophoresis units; power supplies

Multiple thermocyclers for PCR, qPCR, and RT-PCR

DNA/RNA extraction; pH meters, speed-vac, vacuum ovens

Spectrophotometers; fluorometer for DNA quantitation

Scintillation counter; lyophilizer

Refrigerators/freezers (including two −80 °C freezers); 4 °C reach-in cooler

Gene Transfer Platforms

Biolistics: PDS-1000/He Particle Delivery System (Bio-Rad)

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation systems

Electroporation: GenePulser II (Bio-Rad)

Microinjection and other delivery methods

Imaging & Documentation

Zeiss Discovery V2 GFP fluorescence microscope (assorted lenses)

Light microscopy: two Olympus dissecting scopes with CCD cameras

Kodak EDAS Gel Documentation System, UV transilluminator, light box

Slab gel dryer; phosphorimager with analysis software

Photography: two Nikon high-definition digital cameras (wide-angle & macro lenses), light tables, tripods

High-definition digital video camera with blue screen

Image analysis workstation (Dell; scanner/video inputs)

Computing & Networking

Mixed Windows and macOS workstations; iPads (Mac)

Networked laser printers (color & B/W) and a Xerox document center

Direct connection to university compute resources and campus networking

Video conferencing support (e.g., Teams/Zoom/Skype); wireless networking

Additional Access

URI Genomics & DNA Sequencing capabilities (university facility)

Photographic darkroom access

Ice machines; autoclaves (nearby)

Conference room; teaching laboratory space

Administrative and purchasing support via CBLS and on-site offices

Compliance & Scope Notes

No clinical or animal research is conducted in the PBL.

Equipment and availability may change; please contact us for current status or scheduling.