2モードのラマン活性化細胞選別により機能性微生物の解析を可能に（Two-Mode Raman-Activated Cell Sorting Enables Downstream Analysis of Functional Microbes）

2026-10-01

2026-09-30 中国科学院（CAS）

中国科学院青島エネルギー・プロセス生物技術研究所などの研究チームは、ラマン活性化細胞選別（RACS）に光ピンセットとマイクロ流体技術を組み合わせた「Pit-RACS」を開発した。同一チップ上で、ラマン信号が強い細胞には高速フロー方式、弱い非共鳴ラマン信号には光ピンセットによる個別測定方式を使い分けられる。強信号モードでは毎分836±1イベントを処理し、弱信号モードでは毎分約50細胞を選別できる。選別細胞は約10 µLに97％超の純度で濃縮・回収でき、培養やゲノム解析へ直接利用できる。実証では、Yarrowia lipolyticaの変異株からβカロテン生産量が対照より77.4％高い株を選抜し、河川水からはリン酸可溶化微生物12種をメタゲノム解析で同定した。機能に基づく微生物探索や産業用菌株開発への応用が期待される。

Pit-RACS combines two Raman-activated cell sorting modes on one microfluidic chip (Image by QIBEBT)

＜関連情報＞

高スループット二重共鳴モードおよび非共鳴モードラマン活性化細胞選別と少量回収 High-Throughput Dual Resonance and Non-Resonance Mode Raman-Activated Cell Sorting With Low-Volume Harvesting

Teng Xu, Pengfei Zhu, Yukuan Wang, Cuiyun Jia, Xibao Hou, Yang Zhang, Huijie Liu, Jingyun Song, Min He, Fangzhou Li, Dongfang Hao, Yilong Zhao, …
Small Methods Published: 12 September 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.71037

ABSTRACT

Raman-activated cell sorting (RACS) platforms are limited by inflexibility in tackling different Raman signals and inability to export the sorted cells in a sufficiently low volume for downstream processing. Here, we present a generally applicable RACS platform that tackles these challenges. For adaptive dual-mode operation that supports diverse spontaneous Raman signals, microfluidic optical tweezers are designed with switchable capture strategies, with a high-throughput in-stream mode (up to 834 events/min) for resonance Raman signals with short exposures (<0.1 s) for resonance-Raman-based screening, and a high-precision out-stream mode (up to 50 events/min) for non-resonance Raman detection with extended exposures (>0.1 s). Moreover, to achieve low-volume concentrated harvesting, an on-chip storage and centralized harvesting mechanism delivers target cells in uniform 10 µL suspensions with >97% purity. Using the in-stream mode for resonance Raman screening, we isolated a Yarrowia lipolytica mutant with 77% increased β-carotene production in just one sorting round directly from a mutant library. Employing the out-stream mode for non-resonance Raman detection, we enriched phosphate-solubilizing bacteria from wastewater with nearly 100% recovery in concentrated 10 µL volumes, enabling direct function-targeted mini-metagenomics. This high-throughput dual-mode RACS platform with low-volume cell harvesting greatly expands the application of label-free live-cell sorting via metabolic phenome.