QP Expression Benchtop Colony Picking System

描述(申请人提供)：QP Expression是一个机器人菌落挑选和图书馆管理系统，允许自动操作细菌或酵母克隆和RNAi文库。该系统的属性包括复杂程序库的生成、管理和使用所涉及的软件和编程能力。例如，该系统可以占用不同体积的转换混合，并将每个样本分散到用户定义的网格上。在生长后，该仪器可以根据用户定义的大小、形状、颜色和邻近克隆的接近程度来识别和挑选克隆。然后，可以将挑选的菌落排列到额外的平板中进行纯化，并重新排列到多孔培养皿中以生成菌种。克隆也可以复制到额外的多孔培养皿或膜上，用于各种表型分析，包括生长特性、蛋白质生产和抗体或DNA探针的识别。在每一步中，系统都会跟踪每个克隆的源和目的地，并允许用户简单地加载机器、对软件进行编程，然后离开。类似地，特定的RNAi克隆/寡核苷酸集可以被测试并重新排列以用于二次筛选。QP表情机器人将省去目前由学生、研究员和工作人员执行的数周繁琐劳动。重要的是，自动跟踪和精挑细选的属性将错误降至最低，并加快了二次和三次筛选。QP表达仪器将支持威斯康星医学院的8名研究人员，他们是NIH资助的25个项目的首席调查人员，涉及文库的生成、筛选和分析。此外，该仪器将支持邻近机构的另外两名研究人员的研究：威斯康星大学密尔沃基分校的五大湖水研究所和马奎特大学。这些项目中的每一个都与人类健康有关。项目包括但不限于，确定各种哺乳动物“生物群”和供水中的细菌，确定细菌的毒力因素，以及使用基因组方法绘制与各种人类疾病有关的遗传决定因素图。我们预计，随着仪器上线，用户数量将会增加，应用类型将会扩大。例如，我们可以预计，寻求分析蛋白质结构和功能的研究人员可能想要应用随机突变方法和自动筛选。此外，随着衍生品的生物学鉴定和分析，我们预计将直接将这些衍生品送入我们的结构生物学核心，该核心拥有用于获得蛋白质晶体的自动化系统。目前，还没有高通量的仪器来促进这些多样化研究的进展。QP表达系统将补充学院校园中现有的系统，并促进由NIH目前超过8,274,000美元资金支持的研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The QP Expression is a robotic colony picking and library management system that allows automated manipulation of bacterial or yeast clones, and RNAi libraries. The attributes of this system include software and programming capabilities involved in the generation, management, and use of complex libraries. For example, this system can take up varying volumes of transformation mixes and spread each sample onto user-defined grids. After growth, the instrument can recognize and pick colonies based on user definitions of size, shape, color, and proximity to neighboring clones. The picked colonies can then be arrayed into additional plates for purification, and rearrayed into multiwell dishes for generation of strain stocks. Clones can also be replicated into additional multiwell dishes or onto membranes for a variety of analyses of phenotype, including growth properties, protein production, and recognition by antibody or DNA probes. Through each step, the system tracks the source and destination of each clone, and allows the user to simply load the machine, program the software, and walk away. Similarly, particular RNAi clones/oligo sets can be tested and rearrayed for secondary screening. The QP Expression robot will save weeks of tedious labor currently performed by students, fellows and staff. Importantly, the automated tracking and cherry- picking attributes minimizes error and accelerates secondary and tertiary screens. The QP Expression instrument will support eight investigators at the Medical College of Wisconsin, who are Principal Investigators on 25 NIH-funded projects involved in the generation, screening, and analyses of libraries. In addition, this instrument will support the research of two additional investigators at neighboring institutions: the Great Lakes Water Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Marquette University. Each of these projects is relevant to human health. Projects include but are not limited to, the identification of bacteria in various mammalian "biomes" and water supplies, the identification of bacterial virulence factors, and the use of genomic approaches to map genetic determinants relevant to a variety of human diseases. We anticipate that as the instrument comes on line, the number of users will increase and the types of applications will expand. For example, we can anticipate the investigators seeking to analyze the structure and function of proteins might want to apply random mutagenesis approaches and an automated screen. Further, as derivatives are identified and analyzed biologically, we anticipate feeding these directly into our structural biology core, which possesses automated systems for obtaining protein crystals. At present, there is no high-throughput instrument to facilitate progress on these diverse studies. The QP Expression system will complement existing systems on the College campus and facilitate the research supported by more than $8,274,000 in current NIH funding.