GRETA, a new multifermenter system for structural genomics and process optimization.

As part of the Structural Proteomics In Europe (SPINE) project, the automated multifermenter system GRETA has been developed with structural genomics as a major application. GRETA comprises 6-24 parallel fermentation chambers, each with individual control of fermentation parameters such as temperature, stirring, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration and feed profiles. Six human proteins were used to optimize the GRETA fermentation processes and to compare these processes with typical baffled-flask protocols used in structural genomics projects. The optimized GRETA processes allows several times more protein to be produced per litre of culture with limited manual intervention and constitutes a potentially useful alternative both for scale-up production in structural proteomic projects and for fermentation-process optimization.