ADAM: advanced design and AI-driven modeling for plant tissue culture media optimization

BACKGROUND: Optimization of biotechnological processes is traditionally limited by time-consuming trial-and-error approaches and the complexity of simultaneously optimizing multiple, often conflicting objectives. This applies particularly to plant tissue culture medium design, which therefore serves as the application case in this study. Recent advances in machine learning and evolutionary algorithms offer powerful alternatives, yet 80% of published studies rely on licensed software, and systematic data-driven optimization frameworks remain scarce. This creates significant barriers to adoption in both academic and commercial plant biotechnology. RESULTS: We introduce ADAM (Advanced Design and AI-Driven Modeling for Plant Tissue Culture Media Optimization), an open-access, web-based platform that transforms protocol development into a data-driven computational process. ADAM implements a complete ML-EA workflow through five integrated modules: 1. Design of Experiments (five different concepts) for systematic parameter exploration, 2. Data Preparation with automated quality control, and 3. Model Building using nine machine learning algorithms with automated selection. The platform enables Optimization (4.) through four advanced evolutionary algorithms (genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, NSGA-II, SMS-EMOA) for single- and multi-objective problems, with Evaluation (5.) tools to compare original versus optimized solutions. Validation across two plant tissue culture applications showed that ADAM's models matched or exceeded the predictive performance of manually optimized approaches in the original studies. The platform successfully identified multiple optimal culture conditions balancing conflicting objectives, providing experimentally testable predictions that reduce the trial-and-error cycle. CONCLUSIONS: Deployed as a browser-based application requiring neither specialized hardware nor software licenses, ADAM democratizes advanced AI optimization for plant biotechnology, eliminating traditional barriers to entry while maintaining the rigor and flexibility required for scientific research.