Micropropagation of Gracilaria changii (Rhodophyta) through tissue and cell culture
2006
Yeong, H. | Khalid, N. | Phang, S.
Gracilaria species are one of the main sources of agar contributing around 70% of the world's agar. Gracilaria changii Abbott, Zhang and Xia is one of the more abundant agarophytic seaweeds found in Malaysia. It contains high yields of agar and agarose with high gel strength. Gracilaria changii has the potential to be used for commercial development in Malaysia. However, it is not commercially cultivated in Malaysia. In order to succeed in the commercial cultivation of Gracilaria changii, a continuous supply of planting materials is required. As natural populations are low in biomass, an alternative source of planting materials is through tissue and protoplast culture. Tissue and protoplast culture also allow for genetic transformation of the seaweed. Tissue culture studies were carried out on explants of Gracilaria changii. Different culture conditions such as light intensity, photoperiod, growth hormones, nutrients, and enrichment media were tested. High branching frequencies were inducted under the most suitable culture conditions. Spore culture of Gracilaria changii was developed as another propagation technique for the algae. The protocol for protoplast isolation was developed using the best combination of parameters, including type of enzyme, incubation period, temperature and pH.
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