Optimization of medium and media components for maximum biomass of Halobacterium salinarum NRC-1 using Response Surface Methodology

Often, biotechnological advances are hindered by low growth rate of microorganisms utilized in the process, making optimal design of culture media a crucial aspect to consider in the biotechnology field. Materials and Method: Optimization of media components for growth and biomass production of Halobacterium salinarum NRC-1, our organism of interest, was carried out using response surface methodology, a statistical approach to optimize and improve the performance of a process by analyzing the relationships between input variables and output responses. A linear model was estimated and media components were determined based on the linear regression equation generated by the model. The variables chosen were casein enzyme hydrolysate, yeast extract, arginine, and peptone. Results & Discussion: An optimum result for the four variables was predicted based on the experimental response, which is 7.5 g/L of casein enzyme hydrolysate and yeast extract each, and 5.0 g/L each of peptone and arginine. The optimized medium reduced the time required for the cell culture to attain stationary phase, and showed a significant increase in the amount of biomass obtained as compared with that in standard media.