CAS QIBEBT screens bakers’ yeast with better antifreeze performance using Raman-based FACS

https://www.cas.cn/syky/202410/t20241008_5034990.shtml

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.synbio.2024.09.004

The quality of baker’s yeast products is uneven, and there is a lack of fast, accurate and cost-effective methods to evaluate its quality of baker’s yeast. The Single Cell Research Center of CAS Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Processes and Tianjin Agricultural College have developed a new technology for quality inspection of baker’s yeast based on single-cell Raman spectroscopy.

The team incubated baker’s yeast cells with heavy water, and quantitatively analyzed the metabolic activity and viability of individual yeast cells based on the intensity of the heavy water peak in the Raman spectrum. In addition, the trehalose content in each yeast cells was measured through Raman spectra, as an indicator for antifreeze performance. High performing strains were screened out, subjected to genome sequencing and further cultured, resulting in improved strains for the yeast industry.

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TELD New Energy opens ultra zero-carbon building in Qingdao

https://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0826/c90000-20357342.html

An ultra zero-carbon building, the headquarters of EV charging pile network operator TELD New Energy, was opened in Qingdao. It is quipped with cutting-edge high-tech solutions to achieve 100 percent green energy substitution.

A lipid-rich baker’s yeast mutant provides high yields of palmitoleic acid

http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/life/202508/t20250801_1048868.shtml

https://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13068-025-02677-8

A team at CAS Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) has developed a lipid-rich mutant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for microbial production of palmitoleic acid— a rare omega-7 fatty acid with proven anti-inflammatory and metabolic benefits.

The team used a combined mutagenesis approach—employing zeocin, an antibiotic-based mutagen, and Atmospheric and Room Temperature Plasma (ARTP)—to create a diverse library of yeast mutants. They then deployed FlowRACS, a Raman flow cytometry system, to select live yeast cells with elevated lipid levels by analyzing their intrinsic single-cell Raman spectra, eliminating the need for chemical stains or genetic reporters.

This method identified the mutant strain MU2R48, which achieved a lipid content of 40.26%—a 30.85% increase over its parental strain SC018—while maintaining similar biomass production.

Photo: Raman flow cytometry efficiently identifies lipid-rich Saccharomyces cerevisiae  mutants from a Zeocin–ARTP-induced library. (Image by QIBEBT)

Sept. 13 – 16, 2025: 2nd International Conference on Green Carbon in Qingdao and online

Registration is open: https://conf.sciencemate.com/ICGC2025

ICGC aims to provide an interdisciplinary academic exchange platform and academic community for scientific and technological innovation in the area of CO₂ emission reduction and sustainable development. The conference will focus on carbon resources, carbon conversion technologies, carbon life cycle management, and breakthrough developments in green carbon science.

Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, CAS/Shandong Energy Institute (QIBEBT/SEI) is a research institute that is active in science and technology developments of bioenergy, fossil energy, hydrogen energy, energy storage devices, and energy informatics, see http://english.qibebt.cas.cn

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