“Do It Yourself” Microbial Cultivation Techniques for Synthetic and Systems Biology: Cheap, Fun, and Flexible
With the emergence of inexpensive 3D printing technology, open-source platforms for electronic prototyping and single-board computers, “Do it Yourself” (DIY) approaches to the cultivation of microbial cultures are becoming more feasible, user-friendly, and thus wider spread. In this perspective, we...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
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doaj-053d24ca840342b28d6f7457781747082020-11-25T00:59:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2018-07-01910.3389/fmicb.2018.01666364271“Do It Yourself” Microbial Cultivation Techniques for Synthetic and Systems Biology: Cheap, Fun, and FlexibleTeuta Pilizota0Ya-Tang Yang1Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomDepartment of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, TaiwanWith the emergence of inexpensive 3D printing technology, open-source platforms for electronic prototyping and single-board computers, “Do it Yourself” (DIY) approaches to the cultivation of microbial cultures are becoming more feasible, user-friendly, and thus wider spread. In this perspective, we survey some of these approaches, as well as add-on solutions to commercial instruments for synthetic and system biology applications. We discuss different cultivation designs, including capabilities and limitations. Our intention is to encourage the reader to consider the DIY solutions. Overall, custom cultivation devices offer controlled growth environments with in-line monitoring of, for example, optical density, fluorescence, pH, and dissolved oxygen, all at affordable prices. Moreover, they offer a great degree of flexibility for different applications and requirements and are fun to design and construct. We include several illustrative examples, such as gaining optogenetic control and adaptive laboratory evolution experiments.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01666/fullbioreactorsynthetic biologysystems biologymicrobial cultivationevolutionoptogenetics |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Teuta Pilizota Ya-Tang Yang |
spellingShingle |
Teuta Pilizota Ya-Tang Yang “Do It Yourself” Microbial Cultivation Techniques for Synthetic and Systems Biology: Cheap, Fun, and Flexible Frontiers in Microbiology bioreactor synthetic biology systems biology microbial cultivation evolution optogenetics |
author_facet |
Teuta Pilizota Ya-Tang Yang |
author_sort |
Teuta Pilizota |
title |
“Do It Yourself” Microbial Cultivation Techniques for Synthetic and Systems Biology: Cheap, Fun, and Flexible |
title_short |
“Do It Yourself” Microbial Cultivation Techniques for Synthetic and Systems Biology: Cheap, Fun, and Flexible |
title_full |
“Do It Yourself” Microbial Cultivation Techniques for Synthetic and Systems Biology: Cheap, Fun, and Flexible |
title_fullStr |
“Do It Yourself” Microbial Cultivation Techniques for Synthetic and Systems Biology: Cheap, Fun, and Flexible |
title_full_unstemmed |
“Do It Yourself” Microbial Cultivation Techniques for Synthetic and Systems Biology: Cheap, Fun, and Flexible |
title_sort |
“do it yourself” microbial cultivation techniques for synthetic and systems biology: cheap, fun, and flexible |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
issn |
1664-302X |
publishDate |
2018-07-01 |
description |
With the emergence of inexpensive 3D printing technology, open-source platforms for electronic prototyping and single-board computers, “Do it Yourself” (DIY) approaches to the cultivation of microbial cultures are becoming more feasible, user-friendly, and thus wider spread. In this perspective, we survey some of these approaches, as well as add-on solutions to commercial instruments for synthetic and system biology applications. We discuss different cultivation designs, including capabilities and limitations. Our intention is to encourage the reader to consider the DIY solutions. Overall, custom cultivation devices offer controlled growth environments with in-line monitoring of, for example, optical density, fluorescence, pH, and dissolved oxygen, all at affordable prices. Moreover, they offer a great degree of flexibility for different applications and requirements and are fun to design and construct. We include several illustrative examples, such as gaining optogenetic control and adaptive laboratory evolution experiments. |
topic |
bioreactor synthetic biology systems biology microbial cultivation evolution optogenetics |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01666/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
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