Ultra-high-throughput screening based on cell-surface display and fluorescence-activated cell sorting for the identification of novel biocatalysts

Enzyme libraries displayed on the surface of microbial cells or microbeads can be screened with fluorogenic substrates that provide a physical linkage of the reaction product to the corresponding enzyme. Libraries exceeding 109 different variants can be quantitatively analysed and screened by flow cytometry at a rate of 30000 cells/second. The promise of screening methods based on fluorescence-activated cell sorting for directed enzyme evolution is being realized and significantly improved enzymes have been reported recently.