School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2022 Jul 28;17(7):e0272052. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272052. eCollection 2022.
Microbial experimental evolution allows studying evolutionary dynamics in action and testing theory predictions in the lab. Experimental evolution in chemostats (i.e. continuous flow through cultures) has recently gained increased interest as it allows tighter control of selective pressures compared to static batch cultures, with a growing number of efforts to develop systems that are easier and cheaper to construct. This protocol describes the design and construction of a multiplexed chemostat array (dubbed "mesostats") designed for cultivation of algae in 16 concurrent populations, specifically intended for studying adaptation to herbicides. We also present control data from several experiments run on the system to show replicability, data illustrating the effects of common issues like leaks, contamination and clumps, and outline possible modifications and adaptations of the system for future research.
微生物实验进化使我们能够在实验室中研究进化动态并检验理论预测。最近，恒化器（即通过连续培养进行的连续流动）中的实验进化引起了越来越多的关注，因为与静态批量培养相比，它可以更严格地控制选择压力，并且越来越多的努力旨在开发更容易和更便宜的构建系统。本协议描述了一种多路恒化器阵列（称为“中恒化器”）的设计和构建，该阵列用于在 16 个同时存在的藻类种群中进行培养，专门用于研究对除草剂的适应。我们还展示了该系统上进行的几项实验的控制数据，以显示可重复性，以及说明常见问题（如泄漏、污染和结块）影响的数据，并概述了该系统未来研究的可能修改和适应。
