Establishment of a high-throughput screening platform to screen Schizochytrium sp. with a high yield of DHA

Schizochytrium sp. is a microalga with high yield of DHA algal oil. To improve the breeding status of Schizochytrium sp., an efficient, resource-saving, and high-throughput screening platform using deep-well microtiter plates (MTP) was established in this paper. This screening platform was designed with three procedures: prescreening, primary screening and rescreening. First, this experiment explored heterotrophic culture of Schizochytrium sp. in MTP to determine culture conditions during screening process. Second, prescreening (inhibitor formulation), primary screening (Nile Red staining conditions), and rescreening (assessment of heterotrophic culture correlation between MTP and shake flasks) were optimized, as well as determining the time of high-throughput assays for primary screening and rescreening cultures. Again, mutation methods were analyzed, and two rounds of mutation screening were performed. Finally, high DHA yield strain EU432 was obtained and evaluated production performance.