Johnson
Animal Research and Teaching Unit
The Joe Johnson Animal Research and Teaching Unit
(JARTU) is a University of
Tennessee Institute of Agriculture multi-purpose facility dedicated to
providing controlled research and learning opportunities with livestock and other
animals. JARTU is an AAALAC-accredited facility
and contains three wings with over 35 laboratories. Laboratory capabilities are diverse and
include suites devoted to captive animal rearing, reproductive physiology, microbiology,
molecular techniques, zoonotic pathogens, necropsy, and aquatics. Past and ongoing research includes evaluating
stressors and mechanisms of embryo development in livestock, reproductive performance associated with mastitis, consequences
of feed type on livestock production, molecular
mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis and drug resistance, wildlife reservoirs
of zoonotic pathogens, fish physiology, and amphibian diseases. Below is a description of the laboratories dedicated
to research with aquatic vertebrates.
Aquatics
Laboratory
Tanks:
The JARTU Aquatics Laboratory consists of two rooms
(C110 and C111) dedicated to fish and amphibian physiology and disease
research. The laboratories contain
flow-through capabilities with declorinated water supplied to chilling-heating
units for temperature-controlled studies.
In total, over 100 20-gal flow-through tanks can be operated
simultaneously. The laboratory also contains
shelving space for smaller stagnant systems which are frequently used for
replicated studies with tadpoles. Several
200-gal tanks are available for holding animals prior to experiments. Ongoing studies include quantifying species-specific
susceptibility of amphibians to ranaviruses, investigating the impacts of
natural and anthropogenic stressors on disease emergence in amphibians, and measuring
bioaccumulation of microcystin-LR in catfish.
Top row: Trane chilling-heating
unit, 20-gal flow-through tanks, and 200-gal holding tanks in C111.
Bottom row: Flow-through tanks in
C110 (left, middle) and walk-in cooler in C111 (right).
Left & Middle: Rack and small
containers (1-L) used in tadpole experiments in C111;
Right: Invertebrate cultures for
larval salamanders and post-metamorphic amphibians.
BSL-2 Laboratory:
This laboratory (C112) is dedicated to culturing microbial
pathogens (e.g., Escherichia coli
O157:H7) and work with wildlife pathogens (e.g., ranaviruses). Conventional PCR is available for testing pathogen
infection.
Middle & Left: C112 lab, gel
electrophoresis photo documentation system and themocycler (inset);
Right: Biosafety hood and -80C
freezer.
Outdoor
Mesocosm Site
The aquatic mesocosm site is located south of JARTU. The site is fenced with gravel and has a
permanent water supply for filling outdoor tanks. The tanks typically used are circular cattle
tanks (300 gal.) or wading pools (50 gal.) made of polyurethane or plastic. The latter often are used to raise tadpoles
from egg masses for experiments in the JARTU aquatics laboratory.
Wading Pools:
Site entrance and boot bath with disinfectant
(left), wading pools with shade cloth lids (middle),
and tadpoles being added to a pool after a
water change (right).
Cattle Tanks:
Cattle-tank array (middle), adding tadpoles
to a mesocosm (left), and netting tadpoles (right).
Dr. Jason Hoverman (right) is wearing biosafety
PPE for an E. coli O157
study.
Lead Scientists: Dr. Matthew Gray, Dr. Jason Hoverman, Dr. Debra Miller, Dr. Ted Henry, Dr. Richard Strange, Dr. Larry Wilson, and Dr. Alan
Mathew.
Collaborators: UT
East Tennessee Research and Education Center, UT Departments of Animal Science
and Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station, UT Center for Wildlife
Health, University of Georgia College of
Veterinary Medicine
UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries