Acquisition of Instrumentation for Automated Cell Screening and Characterization

一套仪器将在明尼苏达大学建立一个高通量筛选和微生物功能基因组学细胞表征设施。该设备包括一个自动化的、计算机控制的工作站和一个用于分离单个细胞类型的菌落拾取机器人。分离的细胞可以通过高通量液相色谱/质谱分析站自动繁殖和分析。如果存在区别性细胞标志物，则将使用流式细胞仪的细胞分选能力来完成快速细胞分离。对于详细的细胞表征，流式细胞仪与配备有废气分析仪器的生物反应器连接。该装置将能够筛选大量细胞。此外，所选细胞的生长生理学的详细表征将为代谢控制理论框架内的细胞代谢的定量分析提供数据。这种高通量筛选和细胞表征设施将大大扩展该大学大量研究小组的研究能力。它将用于各种研究应用程序由来自五个不同的学院和十个不同的部门参与基础和应用研究在大学的二十多个研究小组。研究项目的例子包括：（i）微生物细胞的生态学和种群动力学研究;（ii）土壤细菌的微生物学和共生相互作用;（iii）大肠杆菌中类胡萝卜素和四吡咯途径的分子育种;（iv）涉及模块聚酮系统的新型化合物的组合创造;（v）聚羟基链烷酸酯的途径工程;以及（vi）开发用于微生物中新代谢途径的新型生物催化剂。拟议的设施将整合到现有研究设施的基础设施中，并利用这些设施，包括生物工艺技术研究所的试验工厂设施，质谱分析设备、成像中心、高级生物计算中心和DNA测序设备。所有设施都非常接近，并支持明尼苏达大学在微生物基因组学方面的努力。

A suite of instruments will establish a high-throughput screening and cell characterization facility for microbial functional genomics at the University of Minnesota. The equipment consists of an automated, computer-controlled workstation and a colony pick-robot for the isolation of individual cell types. Isolated cells can be automatically propagated and analyzed by a high-throughput liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis station. If distinguishing cell markers are present, rapid cell isolation will be accomplished using the cell sorting capability of a flow cytometer. For detailed cell characterization, the flow cytometer is interfaced with a bioreactor equipped with off-gas analysis instrumentation. The set-up will enable screening of a large number of cells. In addition, the detailed characterization of the growth physiology of selected cells will provide data for the quantitative analysis of cell metabolism within the framework of metabolic control theory. This high-throughput screening and cell characterization facility will considerably extend the research capabilities of a significant number of research groups at the University. It will be used for a variety of research applications by over twenty research groups originating from five different colleges and ten different departments involved in basic and applied research at the University. Examples of research projects include:(i) the study of the ecology and population dynamics of microbial cells, (ii) the microbiology and symbiotic interactions of soil bacteria, (iii) the molecular breeding of carotenoid and tetrapyrrole pathways in Escherichia coli , (iv) the combinatorial creation of novel compounds involving modular polyketide systems, (v) the pathway engineering of polyhydroxyalkanoates, and (vi) the development of novel biocatalysts for the implementation of novel metabolic routes in microorganisms.The proposed facility will be integrated into and take advantage of the infrastructure of existing research facilities which includes the Pilot Plant Facility of the Biological Process Technology Institute, the Mass Spectrometry Facility, the Imaging Center, the Advanced Biology Computing Center and the DNA Sequencing Facility. All facilities are in very close physical proximity and support the University of Minnesota effort in microbial genomics.