Strain Development Services

Yeast Strain Development and Screening

Evaluate yield of enzymes, antibiotics, and other products through classical mutagenesis and screening in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Classical mutagenesis and agar-based screening
Iterative rounds for yield improvement
Optional metabolic engineering integration

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Service Overview

Our yeast strain development program applies proven mutagenesis techniques and high-throughput screening to generate improved S. cerevisiae strains for industrial production.

UV irradiation or chemical mutagenesis
Agar-based specific screening
Shake flask confirmation and process coupling

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Classical + Recombinant

Scalable to Process

Our Approach

Systematic Strain Improvement

We combine classical strain development with optional advanced recombinant methods to boost product titers.

Classical Mutagenesis and Screening

Random mutagenesis using ultraviolet irradiation or chemical mutagens creates genetic diversity. Agar-based specific screening efficiently identifies improved mutants.

UV or chemical mutagen treatment
Agar-based selective screening plates
Shake flask confirmation of top candidates

Iterative Rounds and Process Coupling

Confirmed strains undergo further rounds of mutagenesis to stack improvements. Parallel fermentation process development evaluate the final yield.

Multiple rounds of mutagenesis screening
Yield assessment in shake flasks
Integrated fermentation optimization

Host Flexibility

Work with standard lab strains or client-provided S. cerevisiae strains, including polyploid and industrial backgrounds.

Recombinant Engineering (Optional)

Metabolic engineering and CRISPR-based genome editing can be incorporated to introduce targeted pathway modifications when project-scoped.

Analytical Support

Quantitative product yield assays (HPLC, enzymatic, or other) are performed to support screening decisions and final characterization.

What You Receive

Project Deliverables

A complete strain package with documented performance data, tailored to your production target.

Standard Deliverables

High-performing S. cerevisiae strain(s) meeting target yield criteria
Shake flask yield data and comparison to parent strain
Mutagenesis and screening process report
Glycerol stock(s) of the final strain

Optional Add-Ons

Fermentation process development report (media, conditions)
Metabolic engineering design and construct maps
Genotypic characterization (sequencing, PCR verification)
Commercial-scale feasibility assessment

Service Scope

Customizable Parameters

Each project is scoped to your target product, host strain, and project-scoped attributes assessed analytically.

Parameter	Typical project scope
Host Organism	Saccharomyces cerevisiae (standard laboratory strains, industrial strains, or client-supplied isolates)
Mutagenesis Method	UV irradiation or chemical mutagens (e.g., EMS, NTG); selected per project
Screening Approach	Agar-based selective screening (colorimetric, growth, or halo assays) as scoped; automated colony picker
Number of Mutagenesis Rounds	As needed to achieve target yield improvement; typically 2–4 rounds, with intermediate shake flask checks
Yield Assessment	Shake flask fermentation with quantitative product assay (HPLC, enzymatic, or client-specified method)
Recombinant Engineering (Optional)	Metabolic pathway design, gene knockouts/integrations, CRISPR/Cas9 editing; scoped separately per SOW
Iteration Timeline	Scoped per project after consultation
Deliverable Quantity	1–3 improved strains (or as scoped); additional strains may be banked upon request

Our Workflow

Yeast Strain Development Process

A structured, iterative workflow from mutagenesis to delivered improved strain.

Mutagenesis Treatment

Expose the parent S. cerevisiae strain to UV irradiation or a chemical mutagen under controlled conditions to generate a large, diverse mutant population.

Agar-Based Screening

Plate the mutagenized culture on selective agar plates designed to identify mutants with improved product yield (e.g., halo zones, colorimetric changes).

Shake Flask Confirmation

Pick candidate colonies and evaluate them in shake flask fermentation. Measure product titer using quantitative assays to confirm improvement over the parent.

Iterative Re-Mutagenesis

Subject the best-performing mutant(s) to further rounds of mutagenesis and screening to stack additional yield gains.

Final Strain Delivery

Characterize the final improved strain, prepare glycerol stocks, and provide a full project report including yield data and mutation history.

Applications

Areas of Application

Our yeast strain development service supports project-qualified systems as scoped.

Industrial Enzymes

Evaluate production of hydrolases, oxidoreductases, and other enzymes for food, feed, and detergent industries.

Amylases, proteases, lipases
Cellulases and hemicellulases
Increased volumetric productivity

Chemical Building Blocks

Evaluate yields of organic acids, alcohols, and terpenoids for bio-based chemical manufacturing.

Ethanol, lactic acid, succinic acid
Farnesol, geranylgeraniol
Pathway optimization via metabolic engineering

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients

Develop robust strains for production of fine chemicals and secondary metabolites for drug development.

Antibiotics and antifungals
Alkaloids and flavonoids
Scalable to cGMP fermentation

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about our yeast strain development and screening service.

We primarily work with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, including standard laboratory strains, polyploid industrial strains, and client-supplied isolates. If you need a different yeast species, please inquire – additional qualification may be scoped.
The number of rounds depends on the starting strain and target yield. Most projects involve two to four iterative rounds of mutagenesis and screening, with shake flask confirmation after each round to assess progress.
Yes. After classical mutagenesis rounds, we can apply metabolic engineering (e.g., pathway overexpression, gene knockouts) to further boost production. This is an optional service scoped per project SOW.
You receive one or more improved S. cerevisiae strains with documented yield data, a full project report describing the mutagenesis and screening steps, shake flask performance metrics, and glycerol stocks of the final strains.

Scientific Literature

References

Wang G, Kell DB, Borodina I. Harnessing the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the production of fungal secondary metabolites. Essays in biochemistry. 2021;65(2):277-291. View on PubMed
Cai G, Lin Z, Shi S. Development and expansion of the CRISPR/Cas9 toolboxes for powerful genome engineering in yeast. Enzyme and microbial technology. 2022;159:110056. View on PubMed
Astolfi MCT, Yoder SD, Delfa-Lalaguna M, et al. Automated Strain Construction for Biosynthetic Pathway Screening in Yeast. ACS synthetic biology. 2025;14(10):4143-4151. View on PubMed

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