Efficient selection of new Limnospira platensis strains (spirulina) for biomass and high-value molecule production

Efficient selection of new Limnospira platensis strains (spirulina) for biomass and high-value molecule production | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Efficient selection of new Limnospira platensis strains (spirulina) for biomass and high-value molecule production Théotime Roussel, Manon Quiquand, Charlotte Duval, Jean-Paul Cadoret, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8229846/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Limnospira platensis is the most widely cultivated cyanobacterium worldwide, valued by the food industry for its high content of useful compounds like protein, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, carotenoids, phenolics, and other antioxidants. Its rapid cellular multiplication capacity makes it a highly promising source for sustainable biomass production and synthesis of commercially valuable compounds. Growing food industry interest has stimulated studies on optimizing culture parameters such as culture medium composition, temperature, and light to maximize biomass and the synthesis of high-value molecules. Given the demonstrated diversity in production yields, we hypothesized that different L. platensis strains would exhibit varying growth and productivity rates under specific conditions, allowing for selection of the most promising strains for specific industrial applications. In this study, from a previous study of 85 french L. platensis strains (Roussel et al. 2025 ), we selected 17 strains to assess the combined impact of genotype and light quality on growth rate, biomass production, and high-value molecule concentrations. The selected strains were cultured in a modified Zarrouk Spirulina medium at 30°C, under white or red light at 200 µmol photons m − 2 s − 1 and a 22:2 h light-dark photoperiod. Results indicate significant variability across tested strains and light conditions. Notably, the L. platensis PMC 1246.20 strain, exhibited exceptional performance, achieving some of the highest recorded growth rates and production of biomass, phycobiliproteins and carotenoids. This selection experiment demonstrates the critical importance of strain-specific optimization of culture conditions for scaling up production to industrial levels. Limnospira Spirulina diversity experimental design selection high-value molecule Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files RousseletalSuppFigures.pptx RousseletalSupptables.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 26 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 26 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 17 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 05 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 28 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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production","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"","identity":"journal-of-applied-phycology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"10811","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10811/3","title":"Journal of Applied Phycology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Limnospira, Spirulina, diversity, experimental design, selection, high-value molecule","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8229846/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8229846/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLimnospira platensis\u003c/em\u003e is the most widely cultivated cyanobacterium worldwide, valued by the food industry for its high content of useful compounds like protein, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, carotenoids, phenolics, and other antioxidants. Its rapid cellular multiplication capacity makes it a highly promising source for sustainable biomass production and synthesis of commercially valuable compounds. Growing food industry interest has stimulated studies on optimizing culture parameters such as culture medium composition, temperature, and light to maximize biomass and the synthesis of high-value molecules. Given the demonstrated diversity in production yields, we hypothesized that different \u003cem\u003eL. platensis\u003c/em\u003e strains would exhibit varying growth and productivity rates under specific conditions, allowing for selection of the most promising strains for specific industrial applications. In this study, from a previous study of 85 french \u003cem\u003eL. platensis\u003c/em\u003e strains (Roussel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e), we selected 17 strains to assess the combined impact of genotype and light quality on growth rate, biomass production, and high-value molecule concentrations. The selected strains were cultured in a modified Zarrouk Spirulina medium at 30\u0026deg;C, under white or red light at 200 \u0026micro;mol photons m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2\u003c/sup\u003e s\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e and a 22:2 h light-dark photoperiod. Results indicate significant variability across tested strains and light conditions. Notably, the \u003cem\u003eL. platensis\u003c/em\u003e PMC 1246.20 strain, exhibited exceptional performance, achieving some of the highest recorded growth rates and production of biomass, phycobiliproteins and carotenoids. This selection experiment demonstrates the critical importance of strain-specific optimization of culture conditions for scaling up production to industrial levels.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Efficient selection of new Limnospira platensis strains (spirulina) for biomass and high-value molecule production","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-09 09:09:23","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8229846/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-12-26T15:46:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-26T12:29:19+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-17T06:13:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"291412065902110177823368941679036052653","date":"2025-12-08T09:25:51+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"307393927987479400569699089883620382619","date":"2025-12-08T00:02:38+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-05T15:11:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-05T12:07:06+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-04T15:10:24+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Journal of Applied Phycology","date":"2025-11-28T11:10:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"","identity":"journal-of-applied-phycology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"10811","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10811/3","title":"Journal of Applied Phycology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"15001d0d-b360-40f1-94c2-a264fa4eadba","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 9th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-12T11:54:10+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-09 09:09:23","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8229846","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8229846","identity":"rs-8229846","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}