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Updated: May 5, 2026

A High Throughput Screen for Biomining Cellulase Activity from Metagenomic Libraries
Published on: February 1, 2011
Real-Time Screening of Biocatalysts in Live Bacterial Colonies
Cunyu Yan1, Fabio Parmeggiani1, Emrys A Jones2
1Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester , 131 Princess Street, M1 7DN, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Screening of bacterial colonies to identify new biocatalytic activities is a widely adopted tool in biotechnology, but is constrained by the requirements for colorimetric or tag-based detection methods. Herein we report a label-free screening platform for biotransformations in live colonies using desorption electrospray ionization coupled with ion mobility mass spectrometry imaging (DiBT-IMMS). The screening method is demonstrated for both ammonia lyases and P450 monooxygenases expressed within live bacterial colonies and is shown to enable multiplexing of enzyme variants and substrate libraries simultaneously.
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