Automated nutrient screening system enables high-throughput optimisation of microalgae production conditions

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 OD(750) 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. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-015-0238-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.