Highlights
• Based on differences in the fingerprint region of single-cellRaman spectra, the characteristic Raman peaks related to carotenoids can be determined to identify carotenoids-producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• High-throughput Raman-activated Flow Cytometer,FlowRACS®, can be used to quickly and accurately capture and sort high-level carotenoid producing cells for target cell enrichment
Abstract
Carotenes are used in a wide range of products and applications including food dyes, precursors of vitamin A in animal feed, additives in cosmetics, and antioxidants that reduce cellular and tissue damage. Carotenoid-producing yeast is an important source of carotenoid production. Therefore,screening of high-level carotenoid-producing yeast strains is crucial to improve yields. With commonly used fluorescence microscopy, differences in carotenoid levels in yeast cells are difficult to measure at single-cell level.However, because of the strong Raman signals from carotenoids, single-cell Raman spectroscopy technology can be used to quantitatively characterize differences in carotenoid production. FlowRACS® can be used to quickly identify and sort target cells with Raman spectroscopy and dielectric cell capture/release technology, and to quickly recover yeast cells producing high level carotenoids.
