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Automation in laboratories using robots is advancing in the field of life sciences. Researchers at University of Tsukuba examined the effects of liquid-handling speed on yeast cell growth and gene expression using robots. Their findings revealed that the cells were not considerably affected by liquid-handling speed. This finding is anticipated to enhance the efficiency of experiments.

Tsukuba, Japan—In life science research involving cells, experiments are being increasingly conducted using robots. However, the impact of experimental parameters set for robots, such as the flow rate for aspirating and dispensing liquids (pipetting speed), on cells remains unclear. Therefore, herein, researchers systematically investigated the effects of pipetting speed on yeast growth and gene expression using a liquid-handling robot.

Researchers comprehensively investigated the effects of the pipetting speed of a liquid-handling robot on cells via two methods: growth assay and RNA sequencing. Unexpectedly, researchers found that pipetting speed did not considerably affect yeast growth or gene expression within the investigated range.

The results indicated that the fastest pipetting speed can be set without relying on thumb rules or guesswork, which is an important guideline for increasing the efficiency and reproducibility of robot-based experiments.

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This work was supported by the JST-Mirai Program (JPMJMI20G7, to H.O.).

Original Paper

Title of original paper:

Investigating the effects of liquid handling robot pipetting speed on yeast growth and gene expression using growth assays and RNA-seq

Journal:

microPublication Biology

DOI:

10.17912/micropub.biology.001566

Correspondence

Associate Professor OZAKI Haruka
Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba
Team Director, Laboratory for AI Biology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research

TAGUCHI Shodai
Ph.D. Program in Humanics, School of Integrative and Global Majors, University of Tsukuba

MATSUZAWA Ryosuke
Doctoral Program in Medical Sciences, Degree Programs in Comprehensive Human Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba

Related Link

Institute of Medicine