Based on the growth conditions algal growth is classified as autotrophic, heterotrophicand mixotrophic. In autotrophic growth algae use photosynthesis as growth mechanism using sunlight, CO2 and water and it makes carbohydrates as the major biomolecule. In heterotrophic growth small organic biomolecules are used for the growth under dark and protein and fatty acids were the major biomolecule content. In mixotrophic growth, both photosynthesis and organic carbon is used for the biomolecules production such as carbohydrate, protein, lipid and fat.
For the growth algae needs nutrients, normally algal media is the liquid in which algae will be cultivated and it contains 2 major parts – macronutrients and micronutrients (trace elements and vitamins) macronutrients required for the algal growth are nitrogen, phosphorous, and carbon (either from atmosphere or from the media components). The main trace elements used in most of the media are cobalt, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc. Whereas, the common vitamins used are biotin, cyanocobalamin, and thiamine, However, for specific strains optimized media is designed with additional nutrients to obain the optimised growth. The Bold’s Basal Media (BBM) is one universally used media for culturing most of the freshwater algae since it contains the minimal media requirement with nutrients. At Noir we could assist you with the strains specific media composition to enable the optimal growth of your interested strains