Marine filamentous cyanobacteria are a promising source of bioactive compounds, yet their large-scale cultivation remains challenging due to low cell density and light limitations. This study focuses on the intensive cultivation of Salileptolyngbya sp. IBSS-CYA-8 using microcarriers in a suspended-solid phase photobioreactor. The strain was isolated from the Black Sea and identified through morphological and phylogenetic analyses as a new species. Cultivation experiments employed polyamide particles (5-µm, 50-µm, 1000-µm) and silicon dioxide sorbent Polisorb MP as microcarriers to promote biofilm formation. A modified BG-11-M medium with stoichiometrically adjusted nutrient ratios was used to support intensive growth. Biomass productivity was assessed using an original technique based on monitoring inorganic phosphorus uptake and biochemical analyses were used to quantify proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and phycobiliproteins. Results demonstrated that microcarriers significantly improved biomass concentration (3.0±0.04 g DW L -1 ), with high productivity: 0.32 g DW L -1 day -1 on Polisorb MP and 0.30 g DW L -1 day -1 on polyamide 50-µm particles. The modified BG-11-M medium increased biomass output compared to the standard BG-11, with protein and lipid contents reaching 56% and 25% of dry weight, respectively. Notably, the strain exhibited high phycoerythrin production (125.8 mg g -1 DW and 37.7 mg L -1 day -1 ), surpassing many commercial red algae. The study highlights the efficacy of microcarriers and optimized media for scalable cyanobacterial cultivation, positioning S alileptolyngbya sp. IBSS-CYA-8 as a promising candidate for various industrial applications.
Miroshnichenko et al. (Mon,) studied this question.