Acquisition of Instrumentation for Automated Cell Screening and Characterization

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.