Khalil, Ahmad S.Wong, Brandon Gei-Chin2018-08-102018-08-102018https://hdl.handle.net/2144/30737Precise control over microbial cell growth conditions could enable detection of minute phenotypic changes, which would improve our understanding of how genotypes are shaped by adaptive selection. Although automated cell- culture systems such as bioreactors offer strict control over liquid culture conditions, they often do not scale to high-throughput or require cumbersome redesign to alter growth conditions. I report the design and validation of eVOLVER, a scalable DIY framework that can be configured to carry out high- throughput growth experiments in molecular evolution, systems biology, and microbiology. I perform high-throughput evolution of yeast across systematically varied population density niches to show how eVOLVER can precisely characterize adaptive niches. I describe growth selection using time-varying temperature programs on a genome-wide yeast knockout library to identify strains with altered sensitivity to changes in temperature magnitude or frequency. Inspired by large-scale integration of electronics and microfluidics, I also demonstrate millifluidic multiplexing modules that enable multiplexed media routing, cleaning, vial-to-vial transfers and automated yeast mating.en-USAttribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/Biomedical engineeringCell cultureContinuous cultureEvolutionThesis/Dissertation2018-07-03