Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00150
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Interlaboratory reproducibility in growth and reporter expression in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Author Mager, M.; Pineda Hernandez, H.; Brandenburg, F.; López-Maury, L.; McCormick, A.J.; Nürnberg, D.J.; Orthwein, T.; Russo, D.A.; Victoria, A.J.; Wang, X.; Zedler, J.A.Z.; Branco dos Santos, F.; Schmelling, N.M.
Source Titel ACS Synthetic Biology
Year 2023
Department SOMA
Volume 12
Issue 6
Page From 1823
Page To 1835
Language englisch
Topic T7 Bioeconomy
Supplements https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acssynbio.3c00150/suppl_file/sb3c00150_si_001.pdf
Keywords promoter; cyanobacteria; reproducibility; interlab
Abstract In recent years, a plethora of new synthetic biology tools for use in cyanobacteria have been published; however, their reported characterizations often cannot be reproduced, greatly limiting the comparability of results and hindering their applicability. In this interlaboratory study, the reproducibility of a standard microbiological experiment for the cyanobacterial model organism Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was assessed. Participants from eight different laboratories quantified the fluorescence intensity of mVENUS as a proxy for the transcription activity of the three promoters PJ23100, PrhaBAD, and PpetE over time. In addition, growth rates were measured to compare growth conditions between laboratories. By establishing strict and standardized laboratory protocols, reflecting frequently reported methods, we aimed to identify issues with state-of-the-art procedures and assess their effect on reproducibility. Significant differences in spectrophotometer measurements across laboratories from identical samples were found, suggesting that commonly used reporting practices of optical density values need to be supplemented by cell count or biomass measurements. Further, despite standardized light intensity in the incubators, significantly different growth rates between incubators used in this study were observed, highlighting the need for additional reporting requirements of growth conditions for phototrophic organisms beyond the light intensity and CO2 supply. Despite the use of a regulatory system orthogonal to Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, PrhaBAD, and a high level of protocol standardization, ∼32% variation in promoter activity under induced conditions was found across laboratories, suggesting that the reproducibility of other data in the field of cyanobacteria might be affected similarly.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=27346
Mager, M., Pineda Hernandez, H., Brandenburg, F., López-Maury, L., McCormick, A.J., Nürnberg, D.J., Orthwein, T., Russo, D.A., Victoria, A.J., Wang, X., Zedler, J.A.Z., Branco dos Santos, F., Schmelling, N.M. (2023):
Interlaboratory reproducibility in growth and reporter expression in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
ACS Synth. Biol. 12 (6), 1823 - 1835 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00150