Enrichment of f/2 medium hyperaccumulates biomass and bioactive compounds in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Photosynthetic microalgae have garnered research attention due to their inherent advantageous characteristics, however, commercial exploitation of algae is still hampered by their relatively compromised overall productivity. Thus, it is of paramount significance to design a strategy to concurrently enhance the growth rate and compounds production. In this study, we interrogated the impact of fortifying bacterial growth medium components in the conventional f/2-medium for microalgae. Our results showed that supplement of yeast extract and tryptone significantly increased cell growth of the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Particularly, cell biomass and triacylglyceride content increased up to 3.48-fold and 2.13-fold in the stationary phase, respectively. Besides, fucoxanthin content increased by 1.7-fold. Transcript abundance of key genes involved in carotenoid synthesis also increased significantly. Overall, the results exemplified a feasible and promising strategy to simultaneously enhance the biomass and accumulation of triacylglyceride and fucoxanthin for industrial applications of microalgae. •Enriched f/2 medium with bacteria culture medium was tested in microalgae.•Supplement of yeast extract and tryptone increased algal growth rate.•Triacylglyceride content increased up to 2.13-fold.•Fucoxanthin content increased by 1.7-fold.