The preparations at the KIT
During experiments leading up to the exhibition six microorganisms were cultivated at the IBG-1 at the KIT:
The organisms were then incubated as liquid cultures in order to simulate the conditions within the machine. Initially the liquid cultures were grown in classical shaking flasks:
Subsequently the setup was changed and the cultures were mixed by bubbling air through them – just like mixing is done in the machine:
Cultivation of »Rhodococcus ruber« with additional fumigation analogous to the conditions in the evolution engine.
These initial experiments showed that both »Rhodococcus ruber« as well as »Janibacter terrae« could easily be cultivated utilizing the machine. Combing these results with data collected from already published research data led it the identification of »Rhodococcus ruber« and Bisphenol A as the most interesting and promising experiment to be performed at ZKM/KIT.