title: Rapid determination of plasmid-carrying yeast cells by using an imaging sensor system.
abstract: A novel imaging sensor system for the determination of plasmid carrying yeast cells was developed. The sensor system consisted of an Silicon Intensifier Target (SIT) video camera, a fluorescent microscope, and a personal computer system equipped with an image memory board. This system was based on the fact that the membrane integrity of only plasmid-carrying cells is lost following cell growth in 5-fluoro-orotic acid (5-FOA) containing medium, and consequently these target cell can be stained with fluorescent probes and detected. In this study, plasmid-carrying cells were detected and their fraction determined in a mixture of both plasmid-carring and plasmid-free cells. A good correlation was observed between the values determined by this sensor system and the conventional method in the 30%-80% range, and one assay was possible within 4 h. This sensor system could be used for the monitoring of plasmid-carrying fraction in recombinant yeast cells during cultivation.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sode
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tamiya
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Karube