Facilities

Singer rotor colony arraying robot

The Singer RoToR is a benchtop robot that enables easy and fast manipulation of high density arrays of yeast colonies. The RoToR uses plastic replica plating pads in 96, 384 and 1536 colony densities and allows both liquid and agar plate handling.

With the singer RoToR we are able to perform Synthetic Genetic Array Analysis (SGA) and chemical genetic screens utilising the Yeast Gene Deletion Set (YGDS) - a collection of ~4500 viable yeast gene knockout mutant strains. These strains are arrayed in quadruplicate in a 1536 colony format and cover ~80% of the yeast genome on a set of 14 plates.

SGA analysis involves mating of a 'query' gene deletion of interest to the YGDS and through a series of replication and selection steps results in an array of haploid double mutants. These double mutant arrays are then imaged and analysed, based on colony growth to identify inviable (epistatic) double mutants and piece together synthetic lethal genetic interaction networks.

Opera high content screening system

The Opera is a fully automated high-throughput confocal microplate imaging system.

It is equipped with three solid state lasers with wavelengths 405, 488 and 561 nm, a 20X air objective and 20X/40X water immersion objectives and dual detection CCD cameras. The Opera is suitable for live cell imaging as the Nipkow spinning disk unit minimises photobleaching and phototoxicity.

Images acquired with the Opera are analysed using the Acapella image processing software suite, a highly flexible algorithm development system with a number of pre-programmed 'script modules' that can be pieced together and customized for assay development. Our Acapella scripts identify and measure data from individual yeast cells, starting with nuclei detection, cytoplasm detection as well as intracellular compartmentalisation.

We use 384-well glass bottom plates to assay our yeast libraries in high-throughput screens, either using the Yeast Gene Deletion Set to measure the effect of gene deletions on specific reporter systems (eg: an Unfolded Protein Response stress reporter), or using the Yeast-GFP library, a collection of approximately 4500 yeast strains each with a different protein tagged with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) covering ~80% of the yeast proteome.

Biotek precision Xs liquid handling robot

The Precision XS is an automated liquid handing robot for filling and manipulating microplates. An 8-channel bulk dispenser capable of delivering 10μL-10mL per channel and an 8-channel pipetting head for use with disposable tips, provide flexibility to fill microplates with media, drug delivery or carry out dilutions across a plate.

In combination with the BioStack microplate stacker, the Precision XS allows automated handing of up to 30 microplates.

CyBio CyBi-Well

The CyBi-Well is a high accuracy liquid handling robot with a 96-well pipetting head capable of up to 25μL, and additional fixed pin heads capable of accurately delivering either 200nL or 1μL. With two stackers and wash stations that rinse the pins between different samples, the CyBi-Well allows for unattended dispensing or dilution of drug libraries into 96 or 384-well microplates.

Envision multilabel plate reader

The Envision Multilabel plate reader is a high-throughput microplate reader with both absorbance and fluorescence measurements and well scanning capabilities. Plate stackers enable high capacity automated microplate readings.