"Is there a way to get similar growth results without having a shaker-incubator?"

A shaker-incubator makes it convenient to do the task but in its absence, you can use any shaker that can be modified to do the job and place it in a room that can be maintained at 16C.

If that's not possible, be creative and think of your own solutions.

For example, if you have no shaker but have access to a water bath only without refrigeration, you could place the water bath in a cold room and after some effort, you will be able to maintain 16ºC.

Now about shaking - the real purpose is mixing and aeration. If you have access to compressed air, you can use it to your advantage. Find a glass fit that allows air to pass through. You will need a length of autoclavable tubing, a sterile gas permeable filter, and a flask with a stopper - analogous to what one uses as a vacuum trap. You will use this to humidify the air prior to bubbling it through the glass frit into the flask of your bacterial culture.

Simply put, your setup will look something as follows: compressed air - sterile gas filter - humidifier (sealed flask with water to bubble the air dream through so it humidifies) - to the culture through a glass frit.

I see no reason why it wouldn't work.  

Best,

Darwin - I agree with Tausif.  If I needed to do a shaking culture at lower-than-room-temperature and did not have a refrigerator that could accommodate a shaker, I would bubble air through the system.  This is technically known as 'sparging' and will accomplish the aggressive mixing and oxygenating that is usually carried out by shaking.  Do be careful of keeping the glassware and tubing clean, and absolutely include the 0.2 um filter in the airline just before the flask to keep the air clean.  

Good luck!

John

www.akadeum.com

I want to thank both of you for responding to my question. A typo occurred when I typed the temperature. It wasn't 12 degrees but instead 37 degrees Celsius.However, the shaking method you both suggested should still apply.  

I can't thank you enough for your insights. 

Best of luck on your endeavors! 

Both the above suggestions would work. Another thing you can use is a stainless steel mixing paddle attached to a variable speed motor.

Yet another simple protocol is to place your flask / beaker into the 37 C incubator and place a small stirrer in it too. Sterilize the items in an autoclave except the stirrer which you can sterilize with immersion in 100 % alcohol for 30-60 minutes.

Good luck. God bless.

Cheers Cyrus for the insight. I thought about doing what you suggested but I wasn't sure if the mixing with the stirrer would be to aggressive. I would have to spin it a lower intensity is what I'm guessing. Anyhow, now have an arsenal of options to use for my protocol. Thank you.