Novel high-throughput DNA part characterization technique for synthetic biology

Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

DNA parts
circuit design
synthetic biology
long-read sequencing
image analysis
Author

Seong-Kun Bak, et. al.

Published

July 26, 2022

This study presents a novel DNA part characterization technique that increases throughput by combinatorial DNA part assembly, solid plate-based quantitative fluorescence assay for phenotyping, and barcode tagging-based long-read sequencing for genotyping. We confirmed that the fluorescence intensities of colonies on plates were comparable to fluorescence at the single-cell level from a high-end, flow-cytometry device and developed a high-throughput image analysis pipeline. The barcode tagging-based long-read sequencing technique enabled rapid identification of all DNA parts and their combinations with a single sequencing experiment. Using our techniques, forty-four DNA parts (21 promoters and 23 RBSs) were successfully characterized in 72 h without any automated equipment. We anticipate that this high-throughput and easy-to-use part characterization technique will contribute to increasing part diversity and be useful for building genetic circuits and metabolic pathways in synthetic biology.

32(8), 1026-1033. DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2207.07013. IF3.277(2021y). eISSN no. 1738-8872. SCIE.

Original article