Patent ID: 7709699

Claim:
A high-throughput method for identifying a nucleic acid molecule of interest, said method comprising the steps of: (a) transforming a duckweed plant culture, duckweed nodule culture, duckweed suspension culture, or duckweed protoplast cell culture on a porous frit in a high density format plate or container with a test nucleotide sequence comprising a coding sequence for a polypeptide; (b) culturing the duckweed plant culture, duckweed nodule culture, duckweed suspension culture, or duckweed protoplast cell culture on the porous frit in a liquid medium under conditions to select for a transformed duckweed plant culture, duckweed nodule culture, duckweed suspension culture, or duckweed protoplast cell culture, wherein the porous frit allows for exchange of the liquid medium in the high density format plate or container; (c) culturing the transformed duckweed plant culture, duckweed nodule culture, duckweed suspension culture, or duckweed protoplast cell culture on the porous frit in a liquid medium under conditions such that the polypeptide encoded by the test nucleotide sequence is expressed, wherein the porous frit allows for exchange of the liquid medium in the high density format plate or container; and (d) determining whether the polypeptide encoded by the test nucleotide sequence modulates a biological response of the duckweed plant culture, duckweed nodule culture, duckweed suspension culture, or duckweed protoplast cell culture containing the test nucleotide sequence, wherein a test nucleotide sequence that encodes a polypeptide that modulates a biological response is identified as a nucleic acid molecule of interest, and wherein steps (a) through (c) are performed in the same high density format plate or container; wherein said method is carried out using an assembly that comprises said high density format plate or container, wherein said plate or container comprises a body having an upper surface, said body defining: a first hole having a first hole upper edge defined by the upper surface of the body and a first hole bottom portion defined within the body and below the upper surface of the body, said first hole being configured to receive the porous frit and the culture and to hold the liquid medium; a crescent-shaped ledge protruding into the first hole bottom portion and configured to support the porous frit thereon; and a second hole having a second hole upper edge defined by the upper surface of the body and a second hole bottom portion defined within the body and below the upper surface of the body, the second hole bottom portion being connected in fluid communication with the first hole bottom portion such that a pipette device can access the first hole through the second hole upper edge to aspirate the liquid medium through vacuum application and refresh the liquid medium by pumping in fresh medium without removal of the culture and the porous frit from the plate or container.