A constitutive expression system for high‐throughput screening

To reduce the amount of consumables and number of pipetting steps in high‐throughput screening, a constitutive expression system was developed that comprises four different promoters of varying strength. The system was validated by the expression of different sucrose phosphorylase enzymes from Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium adolescentis in 96‐deep‐ and low‐well plates at three temperatures. Drastically improved soluble expression in mini‐cultures was observed for the enzymes from L. mesenteroides strains by reducing the promoter strength from strong to intermediate and by expressing the proteins at lower temperatures. In contrast, the enzymes from B. adolescentis and L. acidophilus were expressed most efficiently with a strong promoter. The constitutive expression of sucrose phosphorylases in low‐well plates resulted in a level of activity that is equal or even better than what was achieved by inducible expression. Therefore, our plasmid set with varying constitutive promoters will be an indispensable tool to optimize enzyme expression for high‐throughput screening.     

Fluorescent probe for high‐throughput screening of membrane protein expression

Screening of protein variants requires specific detection methods to assay protein levels and stability in crude mixtures. Many strategies apply fluorescence‐detection size‐exclusion chromatography (FSEC) using green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion proteins to qualitatively monitor expression, stability, and monodispersity. However, GFP fusion proteins have several important disadvantages; including false‐positives, protein aggregation after proteolytic removal of GFP, and reductions in protein yields without the GFP fusion. Here we describe a FSEC screening strategy based on a fluorescent multivalent NTA probe that interacts with polyhistidine‐tags on target proteins. This method overcomes the limitations of GFP fusion proteins, and can be used to rank protein production based on qualitative and quantitative parameters. Domain boundaries of the human G‐protein coupled adenosine A2a receptor were readily identified from crude detergent‐extracts of a library of construct variants transiently produced in suspension‐adapted HEK293‐6E cells. Well expressing clones of MraY, an important bacterial infection target, could be identified from a library of 24 orthologs. This probe provides a highly sensitive tool to detect target proteins to expression levels down to 0.02 mg/L in crude lysate, and requires minimal amounts of cell culture.     

Development of taxon‐specific markers for high‐throughput screening of microbial‐feeding nematodes

In an effort to assess the taxonomic identity of large‐scale samplings of nematodes from the Konza Tallgrass Prairie, we sequenced a portion of the 18S rRNA gene and its associated internally transcribed spacer (ITS1) from 74 nematodes encompassing four taxonomic families. From these sequences, we have developed a series of molecular probes to distinguish 16 distinct microbivorous nematode taxa. Using a combination of low power microscopy and taxon‐specific real‐time probes, the 74 nematodes were correctly assigned to their respective taxonomic groups. This optimized method provides a high‐throughput assay to determine nematode identities across larger data sets.     

A novel noninvasive procedure for high‐throughput screening of major seed traits

The large numbers of samples processed in breeding and biodiversity programmes require the development of efficient methods for the nondestructive evaluation of basic seed properties. Near‐infrared spectroscopy is the state‐of‐the‐art solution for this analytical demand, but it also has some limitations. Here, we present a novel, rapid, accurate procedure based on time domain‐nuclear magnetic resonance (TD‐NMR), designed to simultaneously quantify a number of basic seed traits without any seed destruction. Using a low‐field, benchtop ¹H‐NMR instrument, the procedure gives a high‐accuracy measurement of oil content (R² = 0.98), carbohydrate content (R² = 0.99), water content (R² = 0.98) and both fresh and dry weight of seeds/grains (R² = 0.99). The method requires a minimum of ~20 mg biomass per sample and thus enables to screen individual, intact seeds. When combined with an automated sample delivery system, a throughput of ~1400 samples per day is achievable. The procedure has been trialled as a proof of concept on cereal grains (collection of ~3000 accessions of Avena spp. curated at the IPK genebank). A mathematical multitrait selection approach has been designed to simplify the selection of outlying (most contrasting) accessions. To provide deeper insights into storage oil topology, some oat accessions were further analysed by three‐dimensional seed modelling and lipid imaging. We conclude that the novel TD‐NMR‐based screening tool opens perspectives for breeding and plant biology in general.     

基于微孔板的高通量筛选6-羟基烟酸转化菌方法的建立

建立了一种基于96孔板-酶标仪的双波长紫外分光光度法高通量筛选6-羟基烟酸转化菌的方法.实验以251nm为测定波长、231nm为参比波长测定转化样品的6-羟基烟酸含量,6-羟基烟酸与△A251-231在0.5～11 μg/mL浓度范围内有良好的线性关系,服从朗伯-比尔定律,平均回收率为99.11%～100.81%.利用96孔板-酶标仪,每天筛选量可达到2000～5000个反应,达到高通量筛选要求.     

Miniaturized fluid array for high‐throughput protein expression

We describe a miniaturized fluid array device for high‐throughput cell‐free protein synthesis (CFPS), aiming to match the throughput and scale of gene discovery. Current practice of using E. coli cells for production of recombinant proteins is difficult and cost‐prohibitive to implement in a high‐throughput format. As more and more new genes are being identified, there is a considerable need to have high‐throughput methods to produce a large number of proteins for studying structures and functions of the corresponding genes. The device consists of 96 units and each unit is for expression of one protein; thus up to 96 proteins can be produced simultaneously. The function of the fluid array was demonstrated by expression of a variety of proteins, with more than two orders of magnitude reduction in reagent consumption compared with a commercially available CFPS instrument. The protein expression yield in the device was up to 87 times higher for β‐glucoronidase than that in a conventional microplate. The concentration of β‐galactosidase expressed in the device was determined at 5.5 μg/μL. The feasibility of using the device for drug screening was demonstrated by measuring the inhibitory effects of mock drug compounds on synthesized β‐lactamase without the need for harvesting proteins, which enabled us to reduce the analysis time from days to hours. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010     

A high‐throughput transient expression system for rice

Rice is an important global crop and represents a vital source of calories for many food insecure regions. Efforts to improve this crop by improving yield, nutritional content, stress tolerance, or resilience to climate change are certain to include biotechnological approaches, which rely on the expression of transgenes in planta. The throughput and cost of currently available transgenic expression systems is frequently incompatible with modern, high‐throughput molecular cloning methods. Here, we present a protocol for isolating high yields of green rice protoplasts and for PEG‐mediated transformation of isolated protoplasts. Factors affecting transformation efficiency were investigated, and the resulting protocol is fast, cheap, robust, high‐throughput, and does not require specialist equipment. When coupled to a high‐throughput modular cloning system such as Golden Gate, this transient expression system provides a valuable resource to help break the “design‐build‐test” bottleneck by permitting the rapid screening of large numbers of transgenic expression cassettes prior to stable plant transformation. We used this system to rapidly assess the expression level, subcellular localisation, and protein aggregation pattern of nine single‐gene expression cassettes, which represent the essential component parts of the β‐cyanobacterial carboxysome.     

Identification of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors using homogenous cell‐based assays in quantitative high‐throughput screening platforms

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an enzyme responsible for metabolism of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter associated with muscle movement, cognition, and other neurobiological processes. Inhibition of AChE activity can serve as a therapeutic mechanism, but also cause adverse health effects and neurotoxicity. In order to efficiently identify AChE inhibitors from large compound libraries, homogenous cell‐based assays in high‐throughput screening platforms are needed. In this study, a fluorescent method using Amplex Red (10‐acetyl‐3,7‐dihydroxyphenoxazine) and the Ellman absorbance method were both developed in a homogenous format using a human neuroblastoma cell line (SH‐SY5Y). An enzyme‐based assay using Amplex Red was also optimized and used to confirm the potential inhibitors. These three assays were used to screen 1368 compounds, which included a library of pharmacologically active compounds (LOPAC) and 88 additional compounds from the Tox21 program, at multiple concentrations in a quantitative high‐throughput screening (qHTS) format. All three assays exhibited exceptional performance characteristics including assay signal quality, precision, and reproducibility. A group of inhibitors were identified from this study, including known (e.g. physostigmine and neostigmine bromide) and potential novel AChE inhibitors (e.g. chelerythrine chloride and cilostazol). These results demonstrate that this platform is a promising means to profile large numbers of chemicals that inhibit AChE activity.     

A simple,robust enzymatic‐based high‐throughput screening method for antimicrobial peptides discovery against Escherichia coli

The indiscriminate usage of antibiotics has created a major problem in the form of antibiotic resistance. Even though new antimicrobial drug discovery programs have been in place from the last two decades, still we are unsuccessful in identifying novel molecules that have a potential to become new therapeutic agents for the treatment of microbial infections. A major problem in most screening studies is the requirement of high‐throughput techniques. Given this, we present here an enzyme‐based robust method for screening antimicrobial agent's active against Escherichia coli. This method is based upon the ability of the intracellular innate enzyme to cleave o‐nitrophenyl β‐d ‐galactopyranoside (non‐chromogenic) to o‐nitrophenolate (ONP) (chromogenic) upon the membrane damage or disruption. In comparison with the other currently available methods, we believe that our method provides an opportunity for real‐time monitoring of the antimicrobial agents action by measuring the ONP generation in a user‐friendly manner. Even though this method can be applied to other strain, our experience shows that one has to be careful especially when the pigments or metabolites present in the bacteria have the same wavelength absorbance. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Taxonomy‐free molecular diatom index for high‐throughput eDNA biomonitoring

Current biodiversity assessment and biomonitoring are largely based on the morphological identification of selected bioindicator taxa. Recently, several attempts have been made to use eDNA metabarcoding as an alternative tool. However, until now, most applied metabarcoding studies have been based on the taxonomic assignment of sequences that provides reference to morphospecies ecology. Usually, only a small portion of metabarcoding data can be used due to a limited reference database and a lack of phylogenetic resolution. Here, we investigate the possibility to overcome these limitations using a taxonomy‐free approach that allows the computing of a molecular index directly from eDNA data without any reference to morphotaxonomy. As a case study, we use the benthic diatoms index, commonly used for monitoring the biological quality of rivers and streams. We analysed 87 epilithic samples from Swiss rivers, the ecological status of which was established based on the microscopic identification of diatom species. We compared the diatom index derived from eDNA data obtained with or without taxonomic assignment. Our taxonomy‐free approach yields promising results by providing a correct assessment for 77% of examined sites. The main advantage of this method is that almost 95% of OTUs could be used for index calculation, compared to 35% in the case of the taxonomic assignment approach. Its main limitations are under‐sampling and the need to calibrate the index based on the microscopic assessment of diatoms communities. However, once calibrated, the taxonomy‐free molecular index can be easily standardized and applied in routine biomonitoring, as a complementary tool allowing fast and cost‐effective assessment of the biological quality of watercourses.     

Tackling the bottleneck in bacterial signal transduction research: high‐throughput identification of signal molecules

Signal transduction processes are typically initiated by the interaction of signal molecules with sensor domains. The current lack of information on the signal molecules that feed into regulatory circuits forms a major bottleneck that hampers the understanding of regulatory processes. McKellar et al. report a high‐throughput approach for the identification of signal molecules, which is based on thermal shift assays of recombinant sensor domains in the absence and presence of compounds from commercially available ligand collections. Initial binding studies with the sensor domain of the PctA chemoreceptor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed a close match between thermal shift assay results and microcalorimetric studies reported previously. Using thermal shift assays the authors then identify signals that bind to three chemoreceptors of the kiwifruit pathogen P. syringae pv. Actinidiae NZ‐V13. Microcalorimetric binding studies and chemotaxis assays have validated the relevance of these ligands. The power of this technique lies in the combination of a high‐throughput analytical tool with commercially available compound collections. The approach reported is universal since it can be employed to identify signal molecules to any type of sensor domain. There is no doubt that this technique will facilitate the identification of many signal molecules in future years.     

Aqueous biphasic cancer cell migration assay enables robust,high‐throughput screening of anti‐cancer compounds

Migration of tumor cells is a fundamental event implicated in metastatic progression of cancer. Therapeutic compounds with the ability to inhibit the motility of cancer cells are critical for preventing cancer metastasis. Achieving this goal requires new technologies that enable high‐throughput drug screening against migration of cancer cells and expedite drug discovery. We report an easy‐to‐implement, robotically operated, cell migration microtechnology with the capability of simultaneous screening of multiple compounds. The technology utilizes a fully biocompatible polymeric aqueous two‐phase system to pattern a monolayer of cells containing a cell‐excluded gap that serves as the migration niche. We adapted this technology to a standard 96‐well plate format and parametrically optimized it to generate highly consistent migration niches. The analysis of migration is done automatically using computerized schemes. We use statistical metrics and show the robustness of this assay for drug screening and its sensitivity to identify effects of different drug compounds on migration of cancer cells. This technology can be employed in core centers, research laboratories, and pharmaceutical industries to evaluate the efficacy of compounds against migration of various types of metastatic cancer cells prior to expensive animal tests and thus, streamline anti‐migratory drug screening.