Molecular and cellular approaches of reproduction biology and genetic improvement in laminarialean kelps

摘要

Kelps (Laminariales, Phaeophyta) comprise a number of economically-interesting species, which are used either as food (Laminaria, Undaria) or for the industrial extraction of valuable compounds such as alginate, mannitol and iodine (Laminaria, Macrocystis). More than 4 million tons of kelps are harvested annually, mainly from mariculture in Asia (China, Japan, Korea) or from natural populations in Europe, North and South America. Overall, Laminariales are the largest marine crop in terms of annual landings. Yet both the reproduction biology and the genetics of these brown algae remain poorly understood. New insights into the biology of this main marine resource, however, can be derived from the development of cell and molecular biotechnologies and we summarize here our ongoing research on Laminaria digitata, the main source for the production of alginate in France.