[P002] Poster

1:00 PM - 1:50 PM JST(4:00 AM - 4:50 AM UTC)

[P01-054] Accelerating Strain Engineering for Whole-Cell Biocatalysis

○Lay Hiang Ling¹, Garrett Wong^1,2,3,4, Elvis Chua^2,4,3, Bo Xue^1,2,3,4, Wen Shan Yew^2,1,3,4 (1. wenSymes PTD. LTE. (Singapore), 2. National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (Singapore), 3. NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI) (Singapore), 4. Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme (Singapore))

Keywords:

Biocatalysis,Strain engineering,Yeast,RapidFire Mass spectrometry

Whole-cell biocatalysis provides a versatile platform for the sustainable production of high-value natural products. In this study, we present an integrated, high-throughput workflow designed to accelerate the strain engineering cycle. Atmospheric and Room Temperature Plasma (ARTP) mutagenesis was employed to generate diverse mutant libraries, enabling rapid exploration of phenotypic space without requiring prior genetic knowledge. Automated liquid handling was incorporated across reaction setup and compound extraction, minimizing manual intervention while improving reproducibility. In addition, a RapidFire mass spectrometry-based analytical method was developed, reducing per-sample analysis time from approximately 10 minutes using conventional liquid chromatography to 30 seconds, thereby enabling routine screening of large variant libraries. Collectively, these technologies establish a cohesive and scalable workflow with broad applicability in natural product biosynthesis. This approach demonstrates that industrial strain development can be significantly accelerated without compromising analytical rigor.