Construction of a Compact Array of Microplasma Jet Devices and Its Application for Random Mutagenesis of Rhodosporidium toruloides

Hyun Gi Koh, Jinhong Kim, Christopher V. Rao, Sung Jin Park, Yong Su Jin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A small and efficient DNA mutation-inducing machine was constructed with an array of microplasma jet devices (7 × 1) that can be operated at atmospheric pressure for microbial mutagenesis. Using this machine, we report disruption of a plasmid DNA and generation of mutants of an oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides. Specifically, a compact-sized microplasma channel (25 × 20 × 2 mm3) capable of generating an electron density of greater than 1013 cm-3 was constructed to produce reactive species (N2*, N2+, O, OH, and Hα) under helium atmospheric conditions to induce DNA mutagenesis. The length of microplasma channels in the device played a critical role in augmenting both the volume of plasma and the concentration of reactive species. First, we confirmed that microplasma treatment can linearize a plasmid by creating nicks in vitro. Second, we treated R. toruloides cells with a jet device containing 7 microchannels for 5 min; 94.8% of the treated cells were killed, and 0.44% of surviving cells showed different colony colors as compared to their parental colony. Microplasma-based DNA mutation is energy-efficient and can be a safe alternative for inducing mutations compared to conventional methods using toxic mutagens. This compact and scalable device is amenable for industrial strain improvement involving large-scale mutagenesis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3406-3413
Number of pages8
JournalACS synthetic biology
Volume12
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 17 2023

Keywords

  • ARTP
  • carotenoid
  • microplasma
  • random mutagenesis
  • rhodosporidium toruloides
  • room-temperature plasma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous)

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