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Cowell TW, Jing W, Noh H, Han HS. Drop-by-Drop Addition of Reagents to a Double Emulsion. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024:e2404121. [PMID: 39101620 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202404121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024]
Abstract
Developments in droplet microfluidics have facilitated an era of high-throughput, sensitive single-cell, or single-molecule measurements capable of tackling the heterogeneity present in biological systems. Relying on single emulsion (SE) compartments, droplet assays achieve absolute quantification of nucleic acids, massively parallel single-cell profiling, and more. Double emulsions (DEs) have seen recent interest for their potential to build upon SE techniques. DEs are compatible with flow cytometry enabling high-throughput multi-parameter drop screening and eliminate content mixing due to coalescence during lengthy workflows. Despite these strengths, DEs lack important technical functions that exist in SEs such as methods for adding reagents to droplets on demand. Consequently, DEs cannot be used for multistep workflows which has limited their adoption in assay development. Here, strategies to enable reagent addition and other active manipulations on DEs are reported by converting DE inputs to SEs on chip. After conversion, drops are manipulated using existing SE techniques, including reagent addition, before reforming a DE at the outlet. Device designs and operation conditions achieving drop-by-drop reagent addition to DEs are identified and used as part of a multi-step aptamer screening assay performed entirely in DE drops. This work enables the further development of multistep DE droplet assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W Cowell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Matthews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W Gregory Dr., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Wenyang Jing
- Department of Biophysics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Matthews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Heewon Noh
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Matthews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Matthews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Hee-Sun Han
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Matthews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W Gregory Dr., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Biophysics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Matthews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Matthews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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Mika T, Kalnins M, Spalvins K. The use of droplet-based microfluidic technologies for accelerated selection of Yarrowia lipolytica and Phaffia rhodozyma yeast mutants. Biol Methods Protoc 2024; 9:bpae049. [PMID: 39114747 PMCID: PMC11303513 DOI: 10.1093/biomethods/bpae049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Microorganisms are widely used for the industrial production of various valuable products, such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, biofuels, enzymes, amino acids, vaccines, etc. Research is constantly carried out to improve their properties, mainly to increase their productivity and efficiency and reduce the cost of the processes. The selection of microorganisms with improved qualities takes a lot of time and resources (both human and material); therefore, this process itself needs optimization. In the last two decades, microfluidics technology appeared in bioengineering, which allows for manipulating small particles (from tens of microns to nanometre scale) in the flow of liquid in microchannels. The technology is based on small-volume objects (microdroplets from nano to femtolitres), which are manipulated using a microchip. The chip is made of an optically transparent inert to liquid medium material and contains a series of channels of small size (<1 mm) of certain geometry. Based on the physical and chemical properties of microparticles (like size, weight, optical density, dielectric constant, etc.), they are separated using microsensors. The idea of accelerated selection of microorganisms is the application of microfluidic technologies to separate mutants with improved qualities after mutagenesis. This article discusses the possible application and practical implementation of microfluidic separation of mutants, including yeasts like Yarrowia lipolytica and Phaffia rhodozyma after chemical mutagenesis will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taras Mika
- Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Riga Technical University, 12 – K1 Āzene street, Riga, LV-1048, Latvia
| | - Martins Kalnins
- Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Riga Technical University, 12 – K1 Āzene street, Riga, LV-1048, Latvia
| | - Kriss Spalvins
- Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Riga Technical University, 12 – K1 Āzene street, Riga, LV-1048, Latvia
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Song HS, Kim YB, Kim JY, Roh SW, Whon TW. Advances in Culturomics Research on the Human Gut Microbiome: Optimizing Medium Composition and Culture Techniques for Enhanced Microbial Discovery. J Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 34:757-764. [PMID: 38379289 DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2311.11024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Despite considerable advancements achieved using next-generation sequencing technologies in exploring microbial diversity, several species of the gut microbiome remain unknown. In this transformative era, culturomics has risen to prominence as a pivotal approach in unveiling realms of microbial diversity that were previously deemed inaccessible. Utilizing innovative strategies to optimize growth and culture medium composition, scientists have successfully cultured hard-to-cultivate microbes. This progress has fostered the discovery and understanding of elusive microbial entities, highlighting their essential role in human health and disease paradigms. In this review, we emphasize the importance of culturomics research on the gut microbiome and provide new theories and insights for expanding microbial diversity via the optimization of cultivation conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hye Seon Song
- Division of Environmental Materials, Honam National Institute of Biological Resource (HNIBR), Mokpo 58762, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeon Bee Kim
- Kimchi Functionality Research Group, World Institute of Kimchi, Gwangju 61755, Republic of Korea
| | - Joon Yong Kim
- Microbiome Research Institute, LISCure Biosciences Inc., Gyeonggi-do 13486, Republic of Korea
| | - Seong Woon Roh
- Microbiome Research Institute, LISCure Biosciences Inc., Gyeonggi-do 13486, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae Woong Whon
- Kimchi Functionality Research Group, World Institute of Kimchi, Gwangju 61755, Republic of Korea
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4
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Dijamentiuk A, Mangavel C, Gapp C, Elfassy A, Revol-Junelles AM, Borges F. Serial cultures in invert emulsion and monophase systems for microbial community shaping and propagation. Microb Cell Fact 2024; 23:50. [PMID: 38355580 PMCID: PMC10865683 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-024-02322-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Microbial communities harbor important biotechnological potential in diverse domains, however, the engineering and propagation of such communities still face both knowledge and know-how gaps. More specifically, culturing tools are needed to propagate and shape microbial communities, to obtain desired properties, and to exploit them. Previous work suggested that micro-confinement and segregation of microorganisms using invert (water-in-oil, w/o) emulsion broth can shape communities during propagation, by alleviating biotic interactions and inducing physiological changes in cultured bacteria. The present work aimed at evaluating invert emulsion and simple broth monophasic cultures for the propagation and shaping of bacterial communities derived from raw milk in a serial propagation design. RESULTS The monophasic setup resulted in stable community structures during serial propagation, whereas the invert emulsion system resulted in only transiently stable structures. In addition, different communities with different taxonomic compositions could be obtained from a single inoculum. Furthermore, the implementation of invert emulsion systems has allowed for the enrichment of less abundant microorganisms and consequently facilitated their isolation on culture agar plates. CONCLUSIONS The monophasic system enables communities to be propagated in a stable manner, whereas the invert emulsion system allowed for the isolation of less abundant microorganisms and the generation of diverse taxonomic compositions from a single inoculum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Dijamentiuk
- Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Biomolécules (LIBio), Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Cécile Mangavel
- Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Biomolécules (LIBio), Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Chloé Gapp
- Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Biomolécules (LIBio), Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Annelore Elfassy
- Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Biomolécules (LIBio), Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | | | - Frédéric Borges
- Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Biomolécules (LIBio), Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France.
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Lashkaripour A, McIntyre DP, Calhoun SGK, Krauth K, Densmore DM, Fordyce PM. Design automation of microfluidic single and double emulsion droplets with machine learning. Nat Commun 2024; 15:83. [PMID: 38167827 PMCID: PMC10761910 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44068-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Droplet microfluidics enables kHz screening of picoliter samples at a fraction of the cost of other high-throughput approaches. However, generating stable droplets with desired characteristics typically requires labor-intensive empirical optimization of device designs and flow conditions that limit adoption to specialist labs. Here, we compile a comprehensive droplet dataset and use it to train machine learning models capable of accurately predicting device geometries and flow conditions required to generate stable aqueous-in-oil and oil-in-aqueous single and double emulsions from 15 to 250 μm at rates up to 12000 Hz for different fluids commonly used in life sciences. Blind predictions by our models for as-yet-unseen fluids, geometries, and device materials yield accurate results, establishing their generalizability. Finally, we generate an easy-to-use design automation tool that yield droplets within 3 μm (<8%) of the desired diameter, facilitating tailored droplet-based platforms and accelerating their utility in life sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Lashkaripour
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - David P McIntyre
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Karl Krauth
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Douglas M Densmore
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Polly M Fordyce
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Sarafan ChEM-H Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Wang M, Zheng N, Li X, Zhao K, Xie BB. Enrichment Pretreatment Expands the Microbial Diversity Cultivated from Marine Sediments. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2771. [PMID: 38004782 PMCID: PMC10673404 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The majority of the microbial diversity in nature has not been recovered through cultivation. Enrichment is a classical technique widely used in the selective cultivation of specific taxa. Whether enrichment is suitable for cultivation studies that aim to recover large numbers of species remains little explored. To address this issue, we evaluated the potential of enrichment pretreatment in the cultivation of bacteria from marine sediments. Upon obtaining and classifying a total of 943 pure cultures from chitin and cellulose enrichment pretreatment systems and a control system, our results showed that species obtained using enrichment pretreatment differed greatly from those without enrichment. Multiple enrichment media and different enrichment times increased the number of cultivated species in a sample. Amplicon sequencing showed that the increased relative abundance during pretreatment contributed greatly to bacterial cultivation. The testing of degradation abilities against chitin and cellulose and the whole-genome sequencing of representative strains suggested that microorganism-microorganism interactions play roles in the expanded diversity of cultivated bacteria. This study provides new insights into the abilities of enrichment in exploring cultivable diversity and mining microbial resources.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Bin-Bin Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Institute of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; (M.W.); (N.Z.); (X.L.); (K.Z.)
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