In this study, droplet cultures were constructed using dodecane
as an oil phase with little observed cytotoxicity. The oil phase
resulted in an increased CO2 supply to the droplet medium, and
specific growth rates were higher compared to those observed for
liquid cultures grown under normal air conditions. We anticipate
that droplet culture can be applied to high-throughput screening
for the acquisition of useful mutants, such as high-growth strains
and strains resistant to specific metabolic products. In addition to
these applications, we hope this method can be applied to single
colony isolation for other microalgae that are able to fix CO2 and
are difficult to grow on agar plates due to drying.