Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42848790›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

A membrane-free spot-plating protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of diverse yeasts.

Matthew R Incha, Matthew J Szarzanowicz, Gina M Geiselman, Amy Lanctot, Paul A Adamczyk, Valentina E Garcia, Robin A Herbert, Mitchell G Thompson, Patrick M Shih, John M Gladden and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Matthew R InchaAgile BioFoundry, Emeryville, California, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4122-3342
Matthew J SzarzanowiczJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
Gina M GeiselmanAgile BioFoundry, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
Amy LanctotJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
Paul A AdamczykAgile BioFoundry, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
Valentina E GarciaAgile BioFoundry, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
Robin A HerbertJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
Mitchell G ThompsonJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
Patrick M ShihJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
John M GladdenAgile BioFoundry, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
Di LiuAgile BioFoundry, Emeryville, California, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7484-5810

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (AMT) is a critical method for genetic manipulation of non-model fungi, yet it remains a laborious and inefficient technique. When co-cultured in acetosyringone-supplemented induction medium, Agrobacterium transfers DNA directly into yeast cells using its virulence machinery. Membrane filters are commonly used to support the co-culture of yeast and Agrobacterium on agar plates, however some reports demonstrate that these filters are unnecessary for specific yeast species. Here we confirm across diverse budding yeasts that membrane filters are not necessary for effective AMT. Concentrating the cells via centrifugation and "spotting" the cell pellet directly onto the induction medium proved effective. This reduces hands-on time to 15 minutes and eliminates filter cost. In the oleaginous basidiomycete yeast, Rhodotorula toruloides, this simplified method increases transformation efficiency by 66% to 2,500 transformants per 106 recipient cells. We further optimized the Agrobacterium:Rhodotorula cell ratio and culture resuspension volume to achieve more than 200,000 CFU per transformation representing a 2-3 fold improvement over previously implemented protocols. This spot-plating method was successfully applied to seven yeast species of a distantly related phylum, Ascomycota, including one for which genetic transformation has not previously been reported, Botryozyma nematodophila. This approach highlights the broad applicability of the spot-plating method across diverse yeast systems. Furthermore, this method could facilitate high-throughput transformation workflows that are critical for genome-scale functional studies.

Indexed as

AgrobacteriumAgrobacterium tumefaciensRhodotorulaTransformation, Genetic

Identifiers

PMID42848790
PMCPMC13649023

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.