Microbial resources are a key strength in the development of the biotechnology industry, particularly in the production of various bio-based products such as enzymes, biochemicals, biopolymers, bioactive compounds, and agricultural bioproducts. Therefore, tools and methods that enable the rapid and efficient discovery and utilization of microorganisms, with the capability to analyze large numbers of samples at once, are crucial. Currently, in addition to exploring the potential of wild-type microorganisms, the creation of hybrid microorganisms using synthetic biology technologies has become an important approach to enhance the capabilities of microorganisms in producing desired products. In the process, a large number of hybrid microorganisms are generated, making the need for rapid and efficient screening methods for these hybrids essential.
We have developed a High-Throughput Screening (HTS) system for microorganisms and microbial products, which can operate both semi-automatically and fully automatically. This system allows for precise, rapid, and continuous operations at the microscale. The HTS system consists of a series of interconnected instruments designed to work in sequence, such as: 1) a colony picker that can isolate microorganisms from solid agar media and culture them in liquid media in microplates, 2) an incubator shaker that can control temperature and humidity for cultivating microorganisms in microplates, as well as for incubating various chemical reactions in the plates, 3) a shaking block heater for temperature control and incubating chemical reactions in microplates, 4) an automatic liquid handling system that can simultaneously dispense liquids into multiple microplate wells with high precision, allowing for rapid and accurate operations, and the ability to adjust volumes and dispense amounts for each reaction separately, 5) a microplate reader that can measure chemical reactions in microplates based on absorbance or fluorescence in both visible light and ultraviolet (UV) ranges. The entire system is controlled by a central computer, allowing for simultaneous or independent operation of the instruments.
Currently, the HTS system supports tests based on the substrates used, including 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) assay, para-nitrophenyl-based assay, and ABTS assay. It can be applied to test various microbial products such as enzymes for the hydrolysis of polysaccharides (e.g., amylase, xylanase, cellulase, glucosidase, pectinase, and mannanase), enzymes for fat hydrolysis (e.g., lipase and esterase), laccase enzymes, and bioactive compounds for anti-aging applications, such as antioxidants and tyrosinase inhibitors. The system also includes designs for screening and selecting mutated microorganisms or hybrid microorganisms generated through genetic engineering techniques, for applications in microbial engineering and synthetic biology.