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Updated: Apr 12, 2026
High-Throughput Metabolic Profiling for Model Refinements of Microalgae
Published on: December 4, 2021
Automated nutrient screening system enables high-throughput optimisation of microalgae production conditions
Khairul Adzfa Radzun1,2, Juliane Wolf1, Gisela Jakob1
1Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072 Australia.
Background:
Microalgae provide an excellent platform for the production of high-value-products and are increasingly being recognised as a promising production system for biomass, animal feeds and renewable fuels.
Results:
Here, we describe an automated screen, to enable high-throughput optimisation of 12 nutrients for microalgae production. Its miniaturised 1,728 multiwell format allows multiple microalgae strains to be simultaneously screened using a two-step process. Step 1 optimises the primary elements nitrogen and phosphorous. Step 2 uses Box-Behnken analysis to define the highest growth rates within the large multidimensional space tested (Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Se, V, Si) at three levels (-1, 0, 1). The highest specific growth rates and maximum OD750 values provide a measure for continuous and batch culture.
Conclusion:
The screen identified the main nutrient effects on growth, pairwise nutrient interactions (for example, Ca-Mg) and the best production conditions of the sampled statistical space providing the basis for a targeted full factorial screen to assist with optimisation of algae production.
