Abstract:Coccomyxa subellipsoidea C-169 cells were cultured using a high-throughput microalgal culture system with a patented design, 48-well microplate with shaking and illumination in a CO2 incubator. Combined with cytomics technology, the growth rate, biomass concentration, and lipid accumulation capacity in C. subellipsoidea C-169 cells under nitrogen and salinity gradients were systematically evaluated. The results showed that the culture system had excellent uniformity and stability, and could achieve high-throughput and multi-treatment microalgae culture. Cell growth and biomass concentration were significantly enhanced in nitrogen-rich medium; whereas neutral lipid accumulation was significantly enhanced in nitrogen-deficient medium. Biomass concentration in the medium containing 1/4 nitrogen concentration was 25% of that in medium containing four times as much nitrogen; however, neutral lipid content (shown as average fluorescence intensity) was more than 16 times higher. At salinity levels of 0~15%, C. subellipsoidea C-169 cells grew well, but rates were not significantly different (p>0.05). However, cell growth was significantly inhibited when salinity was higher than 15%. The neutral lipid content (shown as average fluorescence intensity) at a salinity of 10% was significantly higher than that of all other groups (p<0.05), indicating that this salinity level could facilitate accumulation of neutral lipids.
