Rapid Parallel Screening for Strain Optimization
Abstract
Progress has been made on identifying biosensors that will be used to report on the fermentation yields of industrially relevant biological compounds. Screening of the desired chemicals, and sequencing and annotation of isolated microbes was completed previously. Construction of reporter plasmids for testing candidate transcription factors from sequenced microbes and that respond to the desired chemicals was completed previously. During this period we have optimized the genetic architecture of the reporter system to increase its dynamic range. Similarly, we have optimized the screening process so that empirical verification of transcription factor candidates is far less labor intensive. The genomes of 13 microbes (that utilize desired chemicals as the sole carbon and energy source) have been extensively evaluated for the presence of probable chemical-transcription factor pairs. For eight of these there is a high-quality candidate. We expect roughly the same ratio once the remaining genomes are analyzed (over the next month) and should easily surpass the 5-10 transcription factor candidates we expected to be able to process for this proposal. Moreover, the labor surrounding transcription factor characterization has been dramatically reduced. It therefore seems likely that we will be able to evaluate all candidates (except for those that prove to be difficult to assemble with the reporter system).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 18, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA594001
Entities
People
- Chuck Merryman
- Tony Yee
Organizations
- J. Craig Venter Institute