HIGH-THROUGHPUT MICROFLUIDIC SCREENING IN DROPLETS

摘要

In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a method for detecting and/or selecting a microorganism with a desired trait comprising the steps of (a) providing a composition comprising two or more microorganisms, (b) subjecting said two or more microorganisms to one of the following reactions leading to a change in the genetic composition in at least one microorganism, (i) natural transformation, (ii) transduction by phage, (iii) conjugation; (c) encapsulating each microorganism in a single microfluidic droplet together with an indicator molecule capable of detecting the presence of the desired trait, (d) incubating the encapsulated microorganism together with the indicator molecule under conditions that allow the detection of the desired trait, (e) sorting said droplets in a microfluidic system into at least (i) one group where the desired trait is not detectable and (ii) one group where the desired trait is detectable if present. In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a microorganism created by a method according to the first aspect of the present invention and its relative embodiments. In a third aspect, the present invention also encompasses a microfluidic kit comprising a microfluidic chip suitable for performing the method according to the first aspect and its relative embodiments and a collection reservoir for collecting single microfluidic droplets encapsulating the microorganism with the desired trait as defined in the second aspect and its relative embodiment. A variation of the method of the first aspect in which microorganisms not carrying a desired trait are brought in contact with nucleic acids carrying the trait is also disclosed.