Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Microalgae: A Review of the Regulation of Growth, Stress Resistance, Metabolic Processes, and Biodegradation of Pollutants

Abstract

Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments are a serviceable method for the industrial utilization of the microalgae, which can improve the phenotype, performance, and stability of microalgae to obtain strains containing beneficial mutations. In this article, we reviewed the research into the microalgae ALE test and assessed the improvement of microalgae growth, tolerance, metabolism, and substrate utilization by ALE. In addition, the principles of ALE and the key factors of experimental design, as well as the issues and drawbacks of the microalgae ALE method were discussed. In general, improving the efficiency of ALE and verifying the stability of ALE resulting strains are the primary problems that need to be solved in future research, making it a promising method for the application of microalgae biotechnology.