Figure 4

MMV applications. (a) Trial version of MMV handling. DNAs encoding the GFP gene charged in checker-patterned wells are PCR-amplified there and then transferred to another MMV where the transcription and translation experiments were performed, resulting in the expression of fluorescent GFP proteins. The variation in the fluorescence intensity came from rather weak controlling of transferred volumes (not completely eliminating lateral (side) transfer during the transfer by centrifugation), which should be conquered in future. (b) Photograph of a checker-patterned MMV. Well patterns of an MMV can be freely designed as described in Fig. 2d. For the sake of clarity, we chose a checker pattern to verify the transfer operation. Here, an MMV made of acrylamide gel is shown.