General Lab Facilities

Plant Biosecurity 

Plant health and host/pathogen interactions: our laboratory facilities are licensed for work with quarantine listed plant pathogens, either on host plant material, in soil, or as pure cultures.

We also have facilities to support research on pathogen diagnostics.

Find out more about our Plant Biosecurity research.

 

Controlled Growth Environments 

A selection of controlled environment growth cabinets are available for growth study projects and maintaining culture collections, including: 

• Growing fungi, bryophytes and diatoms in pure cultures 

• The micro-propagation of Rhododendrons that cannot be propagated by conventional means 

• Plant growth studies in response to climate change scenarios 

• Experiments on seed germination 

Chemistry and physiology 

Using lichens to test how species might acclimate and/or adapt to climate change, we measure chlorophyll fluorescence using a PAM (Pulse Amplitude Modulated) fluorometer. This evaluates photosynthetic efficiency under simulated climatic conditions in plant growth cabinets. We are investigating how plants and fungi may cope under future climate change scenarios.

To measure tolerance of plants and fungi to increasing levels of nitrogen pollution, we have invested in equipment that measures surface hydrophobicity. This reveals the speed with which water, and pollutants, are absorbed into plant and fungal tissues. 

We undertake Thin Layer Chromatography for analysis of secondary metabolites as part of our lichen taxonomy programme. 

Find out more about RBGE's Lichen taxonomy research  and Landscapes and Habitat dynamics.

We have a LI-COR-6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System for investigations into plant physiology. This measures photosynthetic activity and efficiency.