GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL MICROORGANISMS USING MARKER-ASSISTED DIRECTED EVOLUTION

摘要

The present invention is directed at a novel method to enhance the geneticimprovement of industrial microorganisms.More specifically, the present invention is directed at molecular methods forthe identification of genetic variants that contributeto the genetic improvement of the microorganisms. The methods of the presentinvention comprise novel approaches for identifyinggenetic markers that linked to said genetic variants, and for using saidgenetic markers to select improved industrial microorganisms.In one of the embodiments, the genetic markers linked to said genetic variantsare identified in microbial populations that are subjectedto directed evolution. In another embodiment the genetic markers linked tosaid genetic variants are identified in microbial subpopulations that have been prescreened for improved characteristics. Theprimary benefits of the use of the methods of the presentinvention include the speeding up of the directed evolution process for thegenetic improvement of industrial microorganisms andthe enhancement of the improvement itself. Indeed the improved industrialmicroorganisms obtained with the methods of the presentinvention are superior over those obtained by conventional methods because themethods allow more beneficial genetic variants tobe combined together in a single genetic improvement step. Finally, it isanticipated that the methods of the present invention can beutilized on any industrial microorganism for which natural genetic diversityis available, including bacteria, yeasts, fungi and algae.