Enhancing high-throughput optogenetics: Integration of LITOS with Lustro enables simultaneous light stimulation and...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Molecular Biology
• Cellular Engineering

Background:

• Optogenetics offers precise control over cellular functions using light.
• High-throughput screening of optogenetic systems is crucial for research and development.
• Previous automated platforms required separate steps for illumination and cell resuspension.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the high-throughput characterization of optogenetic experiments.
• To integrate the LED Illumination Tool for Optogenetic Stimulation (LITOS) with the Lustro automated platform.
• To enable concurrent light stimulation and culture agitation for streamlined experiments.

Main Methods:

• Designed and 3D-printed an adaptor to connect LITOS with a BioShake 3000-T ELM plate shaker.
• Integrated the modified LITOS system into the Lustro automated platform.
• Cultured *Saccharomyces cerevisiae* with concurrent light stimulation and constant agitation.

Main Results:

• Achieved comparable growth rates between constant and intermittent shaking of yeast cultures.
• Observed an increased maturation rate of the mScarlet-I fluorescent reporter due to constant shaking.
• Reported only a marginal temperature increase with the modified LITOS system.

Conclusions:

• The integration of LITOS with a plate shaker provides simultaneous culture agitation and illumination.
• This setup is compatible with laboratory automation platforms like Lustro, streamlining optogenetic experiments.
• The enhanced system facilitates efficient high-throughput characterization of optogenetic tools and systems.