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Limited-scale field trial confirmed differences in growth and agarose characteristics in life-cycle stages of industrially important marine red alga Gracilaria dura (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta)

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Abstract

The red alga Gracilaria dura is economically important due to its high-quality agarose. Previous studies with wild populations reported the existence of specific differences in functional traits as well as agar characteristics among life cycle stages. In farmed populations, such differences can be exploited for commercial gains. For that, the variation among stages still needs to be well established under farming scenarios. Here, we compared the life cycle stages of G. dura regarding morphological and anatomical structures, growth performance under preliminary field trials, characteristics of agarose of cultivated biomass with biochemical (NMR) and molecular profiling (SCoT). The male gametophyte was found to have a significantly higher growth rate of 6.23 ± 0.59% day−1 than the tetrasporophyte (5.10 ± 0.14% day−1) and cystocarpic female gametophyte (2.67 ± 0.32% day−1). A maximum agarose yield of 28.6 ± 1.53% was obtained from the tetrasporophyte, significantly higher than 27.4 ± 0.60% in cystocarpic female gametophyte and 25.2 ± 0.36% in male gametophyte. The gel strength of agarose from male gametophytes was 2384 ± 124.13 g cm−2, which was significantly higher than the 1900 ± 50 g cm−2 and 2122 ± 124.03 g cm−2 recorded from tetrasporophytes and cystocarpic female gametophytes, respectively. A metabolomic study by NMR spectroscopy showed critical differences in alanine, lactate and isethionic acid among stages. The genetic correlation studied with the SCoT marker showed an average polymorphism of 47.02%. The average heterozygosity and Shannon-Wiener index were 0.63 and 1.06 respectively. This study of characterising and differentiating isomorphic life phases of G. dura by a decisive biomarker could be a valuable reference point to select an appropriate cultivar for commercial farming and breeding programmes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Vasco M. N. C. S. Vieira, for the critical comments on the original manuscript. We are also thankful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions, which has improved the manuscript considerably. We are grateful to the Director, CSIR-CSMCRI for the facilities. This manuscript has CSIR-PRIS registration number 147/2019.

Funding

This work was carried out by a grant received from Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, Government of India. KS received financial assistance in the form of a senior research fellow from the University Grant Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Phycology and Biotechnology Division, CSIR - Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Gijubhai Badheka Road, Bhavnagar, 364002, India

    Vaibhav A. Mantri, Yashesh Shah, Nikunj Balar, Keval Chavda, Mayur Mavani, Mayur Kolhe, Kanchan Sambhwani & Monica G. Kavale

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India

    Vaibhav A. Mantri, Nikunj Balar, Kanchan Sambhwani, Ramavatar Meena, Kamlaesh Prasad, Monica G. Kavale & Rajendra Singh Thakur

  3. Natural Products and Green Chemistry Division, CSIR - Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Gijubhai Badheka Road, Bhavnagar, 364002, India

    Ramavatar Meena & Kamlaesh Prasad

  4. Analytical and Environmental Science Division and Centralized Instrument Facility, CSIR - Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Gijubhai Badheka Road, Bhavnagar, 364002, India

    Rajendra Singh Thakur

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  1. Vaibhav A. Mantri
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Mantri, V.A., Shah, Y., Balar, N. et al. Limited-scale field trial confirmed differences in growth and agarose characteristics in life-cycle stages of industrially important marine red alga Gracilaria dura (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta). J Appl Phycol 33, 1059–1070 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-020-02356-1

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