Equipment donation for the Institute of Zoology, MSU

Recently, the Institute of Zoology of the Moldova State University became the beneficiary of a generous donation from the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Moldova, thanks to the project “Biosecurity Implementation Framework for Biological Resources Management in Moldova”, funded by GEF UNEP.

The project was implemented by the Ministry of Environment, the National Office for the Implementation of Environmental Projects and the National Center “Animal, Plant Health and Food Safety”, aiming to strengthen the institutional framework for biosecurity in the management of invasive alien species and living modified organisms.

Based on the need to strengthen institutional capacities to effectively detect, eradicate, control and manage introduced organisms that could pose a threat to biodiversity, the project purchased equipment for molecular biology studies, in particular for the detection of invasive species through environmental DNA analysis.

The equipment, worth 1,003,818 lei, donated to the Institute of Zoology of the University of Moldova, includes a SafeMate ECO+ class II biological safety cabinet, a QuantStudio 5 Real-Time PCR system, a Qubit 4 fluorometer, and a HulaMixer shaker. In addition, reagents and consumables for the collection of environmental DNA were provided, worth approximately 45,500 lei.

The equipment will be used to study invasive species of insects and other invertebrates, fish and terrestrial vertebrates, by detecting genetic "traces" left by organisms of interest in the environment (water) by collecting environmental DNA and using the Real-Time PCR method. This method will be used for the first time in the Republic of Moldova. 

Authors: Dr.Hab. Dumitru Bulat, Dr. Hab. Victoria Nistreanu, Dr. Victor Sîtnic