Microfluidic Platforms for Yeast-Based Aging Studies

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been a powerful model for the study of aging and has enabled significant contributions to our understanding of basic mechanisms of aging in eukaryotic cells. However, the laborious low-throughput nature of conventional methods of performing aging assays limits the pace of discoveries in this field. Some of the technical challenges of conventional aging assay methods can be overcome by use of microfluidic systems coupled to time-lapse microscopy. One of the major advantages is the ability of a microfluidic system to perform long-term cell culture under well-defined environmental conditions while tracking individual yeast. Here, recent advancements in microfluidic platforms for various yeast-based studies including replicative lifespan assay, long-term culture and imaging, gene expression, and cell signaling are discussed. In addition, emerging problems and limitations of current microfluidic approaches are examined and perspectives on the future development of this dynamic field are presented.