Development of a device that generates a temperature gradient in a microtiter plate for microbial culture

Although temperature is a fundamental parameter in biology, testing various temperature conditions simultaneously is often difficult. In the present study, we developed a device for generating a temperature gradient in arrays of wells on a microtiter plate. This device consists of a pair of Peltier elements and temperature sensors placed on both ends of a flat aluminum bar to generate a linear temperature gradient. The device loads a microtiter plate at the center of the aluminum bar and transfers the temperature gradient to the bottom of the wells in the plate. This device successfully maintained a temperature gradient of 38.2 to 43.1°C on the horizontal axis of a 96-well microtiter plate in an incubator at 31°C. Furthermore, using this device, we demonstrated a laboratory evolution experiment of Escherichia coli, which was selected on the basis of its ability to grow at high temperatures. The developed device also facilitates a two-dimensional assay to determine the effects of temperature and drug concentrations on cellular growth.