Enzyme Metagenomic Library Screening Service

Enzyme Metagenomic Library Screening is a powerful discovery tool that unlocks the functional potential of unculturable microbial communities. By cloning environmental DNA directly into host organisms, we create vast metagenomic libraries that serve as reservoirs of novel enzymatic activities. This method bypasses the need for culturing the source organisms, providing direct access to the vast majority of biological diversity on Earth. Our service focuses on high-throughput functional and sequence-based screening to rapidly isolate enzymes with unique or enhanced properties for industrial and therapeutic applications.

CD Biosynsis offers specialized Metagenomic Library Screening CRO services, optimized for the discovery of novel biocatalysts. Our platform includes the construction of ultra-high-diversity metagenomic libraries and the deployment of sensitive, miniaturized screening assays. We provide two main approaches: functional screening (testing for direct enzyme activity) and sequence-based screening (using sequence homology to identify known families). Our expert team manages the entire process—from environmental sample collection and library construction to hit validation and scale-up—significantly accelerating your path to discovering novel enzymes for fine chemical synthesis, green chemistry, and drug development.

Highlights

We provide comprehensive solutions to overcome the technical challenges of library construction and high-throughput screening.

• Access to Unculturable Diversity: Direct mining of environmental DNA (eDNA) from complex sources, capturing enzymes from organisms that cannot be grown in a lab.
• Ultra-High Diversity Libraries: Construction of libraries with complexity often exceeding 10^9 clones, maximizing the chance of discovering rare genes.
• Dual Screening Capability: Offering both functional screening (phenotypic assays) and sequence-based screening (PCR and hybridization) to ensure no target is missed.
• Miniaturized High-Throughput Assays: Utilization of microfluidics and automated robotics for rapid screening of millions of clones per day, significantly reducing costs and time.

Applications

Metagenomic enzyme discovery fuels innovation in diverse sectors requiring novel biocatalysts:

Industrial Biotransformations

Discovery of thermostable, solvent-tolerant enzymes (e.g., lipases, proteases) for large-scale industrial chemical processes.

Pharmaceutical Synthesis

Identifying highly stereo- and regio-selective enzymes for synthesizing chiral drug intermediates and complex natural products.

Bioremediation

Finding novel enzymes (e.g., hydrolases, oxidoreductases) capable of efficiently degrading environmental pollutants, plastics, and toxins.

Agri-Food Technology

Discovering enzymes to improve food processing (e.g., starch conversion, flavor modification) or enhance crop disease resistance.

Platform

Our platform integrates robust molecular biology with high-throughput automation for efficient enzyme mining.

High-Quality Sample Preparation

Optimized protocols for extracting high-molecular weight eDNA from diverse sources (soil, marine, gut) to maximize gene recovery.

Stable Library Construction

Construction of large-insert (Fosmid/BAC) or small-insert libraries in high-copy plasmids, ensuring stable expression in host strains.

Custom Functional Assay Development

Creation of colorimetric, fluorogenic, or chromatographic assays tailored specifically to the target enzymatic activity (e.g., esterase, deaminase).

High-Throughput Robotics Screening

Fully automated screening of millions of clones in microtiter plates, coupled with sensitive detection systems for rapid identification of positive hits.

Hit Confirmation and Sequencing

Positive clones undergo re-screening, purification, and sequencing of the insert to identify the novel gene sequence.

Workflow

Our Enzyme Metagenomic Library Screening process is designed for maximum efficiency in discovering novel biocatalysts:

• Project Design and Sample Sourcing: Define the target enzyme activity and environmental source (e.g., hot springs for thermophiles). Source high-quality eDNA.
• Metagenomic Library Construction: The eDNA is fragmented and ligated into a suitable vector (e.g., pCC1FOS) and transformed into an expression host (e.g., E. coli), ensuring high clone diversity.
• Functional Assay Development: A robust, scalable assay is established in the microtiter plate format, specifically detecting the desired enzyme activity (e.g., hydrolysis, ligation).
• High-Throughput Screening: The library is screened using automated robotics. Positive clones are identified based on the activity signal and isolated from the primary screen.
• Hit Validation and Characterization: Positive clones are re-screened, and the metagenomic insert is sequenced (Sanger or NGS) to confirm the gene sequence and assign function.
• Final Delivery: We deliver the sequence of the novel enzyme, the expression clone, and a comprehensive data report detailing the screening protocol and hit characterization.

CD Biosynsis is committed to delivering validated, novel enzyme candidates ready for optimization and downstream commercialization. Every project includes:

• Guaranteed Diversity: A minimum guaranteed library size (e.g., 10^8 clones) to ensure broad coverage of the metagenome.
• Sequence Confirmation: Full sequence data for all identified positive hits and predicted protein translation.
• Screening Protocol: Detailed, reproducible documentation of the assay protocol, substrate, and positive control used in the screening process.
• Experimental Clone: Delivery of the confirmed expression clone containing the novel enzyme gene.