Microbial mutagenesis by atmospheric and room-temperature plasma (ARTP): the latest development

• Published in: Bioresources and bioprocessing Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 1 - 14
• Main Authors: Ottenheim, Christoph, Nawrath, Margarete, Wu, Jin Chuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 23.03.2018; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Acid production; Atmospheric and room-temperature plasma; Biochemical Engineering; Cellular manufacture; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Dinoflagellates; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Enzyme activity; Genetic engineering; Industrial and Production Engineering; Industrial application; Microorganisms; Mutagenesis; Mutagens; Mutation mechanism; Mutation rates; Random mutagenesis; Review; Room temperature; Strain breeding; Ultraviolet radiation; Mutation mechanism; Atmospheric and room-temperature plasma; Industrial application; Random mutagenesis; Strain breeding
• ISSN: 2197-4365; 2197-4365
• DOI: 10.1186/s40643-018-0200-1

Although rational genetic engineering is nowadays the favored method for microbial strain improvement, random mutagenesis is still in many cases the only option. Atmospheric and room-temperature plasma (ARTP) is a newly developed whole-cell mutagenesis tool based on radio-frequency atmospheric-pressure glow discharge plasma which features higher mutation rates than UV radiation or chemical mutagens while maintaining low treatment temperatures. It has been successfully applied on at least 24 bacterial and 14 fungal species, but also on plants, dinoflagellates, and other microbial communities for the improvement of tolerance to medium components, to increase cellular growth and production of cellular biomass, to enhance enzyme activity, and to increase the production of various chemicals. Achievements like 385.7% of acetic acid production enhancement in Acetobacter pasteurianus give this new mutagenesis tool a promising future. However, certain questions remain regarding optimal operational conditions, the effects at subcellular levels, and standard operation procedures, which need to be addressed to facilitate applications of ARTP in microbial breeding and other fields such as evolution of enzymes.