Cultivation of Marine Microorganisms

The marine environment is a huge biodiversity resource pool, covering about 70 % of the earth 's surface, and one of the organisms inhabiting the marine environment is microorganisms. Culturing has been the cornerstone of microbiology since Robert Koch first successfully cultured bacteria in the late nineteenth century. However, over 99% of marine microorganisms have not been cultured under laboratory conditions. This is due to the lack of necessary nutrients, osmotic support or incubation conditions, low growth rates, poorly developed colonies, and the presence of dormant cells. Although culture-independent methods have been able to elucidate the assemblage of marine microorganisms and their metabolic potential, pure cultures are still needed in microbiological studies.

Alfa Chemistry is a leading scientific service provider and we are committed to providing our customers with cultivation services for marine microorganisms. Through this service, our customers can promote the development of science and harness the rich marine resources to create a better future.

Benefits of Successful Cultivation of Marine Microorganisms

The successful cultivation of marine microorganisms provides several benefits. The main benefits are described below.

(i) The successful cultivation of marine microorganisms is essential for understanding the morphology, ecophysiology and biochemistry of these organisms, which is key to understanding their function in complex environmental processes.

(ii) Marine microorganisms can produce a large number of bioactive compounds with different chemical structures and biological activities. By successfully culturing these microorganisms, scientists can obtain a sufficient number of required microorganisms and explore their potential in discovering new natural products with therapeutic and industrial uses.

(iii) Certain marine microorganisms possess unique metabolic capabilities that can be harnessed for environmental remediation.  Cultivation allows researchers to study the potential of these microorganisms in the detoxification of pollutants, degradation of hydrocarbons, and restoration of marine habitats.

Our Cultivation Techniques

Our cultivation techniques are mainly described as follows.

• In situ cultivation technique

In situ cultivation technique is one of the most popular techniques in the field of marine microorganisms. In situ cultivation methods mainly include diffusion chamber, microbial trap, iChip (isolation chip), iTip (in situ cultivation by tip), and double encapsulation techniques. Compared with traditional methods, these new methods can cultivate previously uncultured and phylogenetically novel microorganisms, many of which have biotechnology potential.

• Microfluidic droplet-based technique

Droplet-based microfluidic systems produce, load, manipulate and process sub-microlitre droplets in a rapid and efficient manner. Microfluidic droplet-based technique has emerged as a promising novel cultivation and screening strategy due to its high throughput, automation potential, single cell resolution, low cost, and microscale.

• Other techniques

In addition to the above two techniques, we have also developed other promising cultivation strategies. These include, but are not limited to, dilution plating, co-cultivation, in situ isolation, diffusion chambers and sponge-explant-based methods.

Our Advantages

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.