Experiments in bioreactors for Adaptive Laboratory Evolution (ALE) are used to accelerate
the development of bioprocesses by evolving microbial cell factories to gain phenotypes of
interest. For instance, microorganisms can be adapted to industrially relevant culture
conditions, including media, temperature, pressure, by-product toxicity, or growth rate
improvement. This type of approach allows the adaptation of microorganisms of industrial
interest that might be genetically untracktables. As part of a biofoundry approach, a robust
device to perform ALE with minimal human intervention is an essential requirement. When
ALE is performed in continuous culture (bioreactor), one of the solutions to prevent biofilm
formation is to regularly transfer the culture from a bioreactor to another, clean one. The culture
continues to grow in the second reactor while a washing procedure automatically cleans the
first bioreactor. The project aims to demonstrate the usability of a modular system of computer
controlled mini-bioreactors developed by the coordinating team for conducting this type of
culture. It encompasses hardware development (WP1 and WP3), software development
(WP2), proof-of-concept studies and technology transfer to the fermentation platform at TWB
for integration into its portfolio of services (WP4 and WP5).”