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Updated: May 2, 2026
Author Spotlight: Optimizing Growth Factors for Production of Biotechnologically Relevant Secondary Metabolites
Published on: October 25, 2024
Attached cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis for astaxanthin production
Wenduo Zhang1, Junfeng Wang2, Jialin Wang3
1Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong 266101, PR China; Lab of Bioengineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong 266042, PR China.
Abstract:
Haematococcus pluvialis, the best natural source for astaxanthin, was cultivated with an immobilized biofilm method, viz. "attached cultivation", which was high in photosynthetic efficiency. A practical operational protocol for this "attached cultivation" method was investigated by studying the effects of inoculum density, light intensity, nitrogen quantity as well as medium volume on growth and astaxanthin accumulation. Results indicated the optimized inoculum density and light intensity were 10 g m(-2) and 100 μmol m(-2)s(-1), respectively. The optimized nitrogen supply strategy was circulating ca. 30 L of BG-11 medium with initial sodium nitrate concentration of ca. 1.8mM for 1m(2) of cultivation surface. With this strategy, the maximum astaxanthin productivity reached ca. 160 mg m(-2)d(-1) which is much higher than many other indoor researches. Both of the red and green cells were found in the biofilm with red cells on the top.
