Ecology-based selective environments as solution to contamination in microalgal cultivation

•Competition and evolution limit the use of axenic cultures for lipid production.•A selective environment which favours production of storage compounds can be shaped.•Competition and evolution are of value in such an approach.•Selective environments for other desired traits can be created.

Large-scale production of energetic storage compounds by microalgae is hampered by competition and evolution. Both phenomena result in contamination and arise due to a mismatch between the desired productive microalgal strain and the constructed environment. The prevailing approach to solve this issue involves increasing the survival potential of the desired strain, for example by working in closed systems or at extreme conditions. We advocate adjusting the environment in such a way that lipid production, or any other desired characteristic, gives a competitive advantage. Competition and evolution become a value rather than a threat to processes in which the desired characteristic is ensured by a selective environment. Research and cultivation efforts will benefit from this approach as it harnesses the microalgal diversity in nature.

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