Abstract
Alaria esculenta populations from six differentgeographical locations on the Irish coast wereexamined for hybridization abilities, growth rates andgenetic make-up with a view towards identifying afast-growing strain suitable for aquaculture.Hybridization experiments under laboratory conditionswith the three most geographically dispersedpopulations showed that all cross combinations wereinterfertile, although differences were found insurvival, and in blade and hapteron morphology. Acomparison of relative growth rates showed significantdifferences amongst the self-crosses and hybrids. Thedata of the hybridization experiments and growth ratesunder laboratory conditions show that the bestpopulation for the purpose of seaweed aquaculture arethe Slea Head and Corbet Head self-crosses and theirhybrids. Genetic fingerprinting of the internaltranscribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA of five A. esculenta isolates from geographically separatedpopulations in Ireland revealed no restriction lengthpolymorphisms between the tested isolates and showthat the A. esculenta populations around theIrish coast are clearly genetically homogenous inrespect of the DNA region examined. The geneticanalysis, interfertility of the populations,morphology and growth rates are discussed with a viewto potential cultivation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bhattacharya D, Baillie DL, Druehl LD (1990) Population analysis of the kelp Costaria costata (Phaeophyta) using a polymorphic ribosomal DNA probe. Pl. Syst. Evol. 170: 177-191.
Bhattacharya D, Druehl LD (1989) Morphological and DNA sequence variation in the kelp Costaria costata (Phaeophyta). Mar. Biol. 102: 15-23.
Bhattacharya D, Mayes C, Druehl LD (1991) Restriction endonuclease analysis of ribosomal DNA sequence variations in Laminaria (Phaeophyta) J. Phycol. 27: 624-628.
Breeman AM (1988) Relative importance of temperature and other factors in determining geographic boundaries of seaweeds: experimental and phenological evidence. Helgoländer Meeresunters. 42: 199-241.
Chapman ARO (1974) The genetic basis of morphological differentiation in some Laminaria populations. Mar. Biol. 24: 85-91.
Coyer JA, Olsen JL, Stam WT (1997) Genetic variability and spatial separation in the sea palm kelp Postelsia palmaeformis (Phaeophyceae) as assessed with M13 fingerprints and RAPDS. J. Phycol. 33: 561-568.
Destombe C, Douglas SE (1991) Rubisco spacer sequence divergence in the Rhodophyta alga Gracilaria verrucosa and closely related species. Curr. Genet. 19: 395-398.
Goff LJ, Moon DA, Coleman WA (1994) Molecular delineation of species and species relationships in the red algal agrophytes Gracilariopsis and Gracilaria (Gracilariales) J. Phycol. 30: 521-537.
Guiry MD (1997) Research and development of a sustainable Irish seaweed Industry. Occasional Papers in Irish Science and Technology. Royal Dublin Society. Went Memorial Lecture 1996. No. 14.
Guiry MD, Blunden G (1991) Seaweed Resources in Europe: Use and Potential. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 432 pp.
Guiry MD, Cunningham EM (1984) Photoperiodic responses in the reproductionof north-eastern Atlantic Gigartina acicularis (Rhodophyta: Gigartinales) Phycologia 23: 357-367.
Guiry MD, Hession C (1996) Eat up your seaweed! Ireland of the Welcomes 45(1): 22-25.
Hillis DM, Moritz C, Mable BK (1996) Molecular Systematics 2 edn. Sinauer Assoc., Sunderland, MA, USA, 653 pp.
Indergaard M, Minsaas J (1991) Animal and human nutrition. In Guiry MD, Blunden G (eds), Seaweed Resources in Europe. Wiley, Chichester, pp. 21-64.
Kain JM, Dawes CP (1987) Useful European seaweeds: past hopes and present cultivation. Hydrobiologia 151/152: 173-181.
Kraan S, Guiry MD (2000) Sexual hybridization experiments and phylogenetic relationships as inferred from Rubisco spacer sequences in the genus Alaria (Alariaceae, Phaeophyceae). J. Phycol. 36: 190-198.
Lehman RL, Manhart JR (1997) A preliminary comparison of restrictionfragment patterns in the genus Caulerpa (Chlorophyta) and the unique structure of the chloroplast genome of Caulerpa sertularioides. J. Phycol. 33: 1055-1062.
Lewallen, Lewallen (1996) Sea Vegetable Gourmet Cookbook and Wildcrafter's Guide. Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company, CA, USA, 128 pp.
Lüning K (1990) Chapter 1. Introduction to vertical and geographical distribution. In Yarish C, Kirkman H (eds), Seaweeds. Their Environment, Biogeography and Ecophysiology. Part 1. Distribution and Structure of Seaweed Vegetation. JohnWiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 527 pp., pp. 3-21.
Lüning K, Chapman ARO, Mann KH (1978) Crossing experiments in the non-digitate complex of Laminaria from both sides of the Atlantic. Phycologia 17: 293-298.
Maggs CA, Douglas SE, Fenety J, Bird CJ (1992) A molecular and morphological analysis of the Gymnogrongus devoniensis (Rhodophyta) complex in the North Atlantic. J. Phycol. 28: 214-232.
Munda IM, Lüning K (1977) Growth performance of Alaria esculenta off Helgoland. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. 29: 311-314.
Mai K, Mercer JP, Donlon, J (1996) Comparative studies on the nutrition of two species of abalone, Haliotis tuberculata L. and Haliotis discus hannai Ino. The role of polyunsaturated fatty acids of macroalgae in abelone nutrition. Aquaculture 139: 77-89.
Moss SM (1994) Growth rates, nucleic acid concentrations, and RNA/DNA ratios of juvenile white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei Boone, fed different algal diets. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 182: 193-204.
Nakahara H, Nakamura Y (1973) Parthenogenesis, apogamy and apospory in Alaria crassifolia (Laminariales). Mar. Biol. 18: 327-332.
Nakagawa H, Umino T, Tasaka Y (1997) Usefulness of Ascophyllum meal as a feed additive for red sea bream, Pagrus major. Aquaculture 151: 275-281.
Newton L (1931) A Handbook of the British Seaweeds. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London.
Norton TA, Mathieson A, Neushul AC (1982) A review of some aspects of form and function in seaweeds. Bot. mar. 25: 501-510.
Pang SJ, Hu XY, Wu CY Hirosawa Y, Ohno M (1997) Intraspecific crossings of Undaria pinnatifida (Harv.) Sur. A possible timesaving way of strain selection. Chin J. Oceanol. Limnol. 15: 227-235.
Patwary MU, van der Meer JP (1992) Genetics and breeding of cultivated seaweeds. Kor. J. Phycol. 7: 281-318.
Rice EL, Bird CJ (1990) Relationships among geographically distant populations of Gracilaria verrucosa (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) and related species. Phycologia 29: 501-510.
Sambrook J, Fritch EF, Maniatis T (1989) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual. 2nd Edn Cold Springer Harbor Laboratory Press, New York.
Saunders GW, Druehl LD (1993) Nucleotide sequence of the internal transcribed spacers and 5.8S rRNA genes from Alaria marginata and Postelsia palmaeformis (Phaeophyta; Laminariales) Mar. Biol. 115: 347-352.
Siemer BL, Stam WT, Olsen JL, Pedersen PM (1998) Phylogenetic relationships of the brown algal orders Ectocarpales, Chordariales, Dictyosiphonales and Tilopteridales (Phaeophyceae) based on RuBisCo large subunit and spacer sequences. J. Phycol. 34: 1038-1048.
South GR (1970) Experimental culture of Alaria in a sub-arctic, free-flowing sea water system. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. 20: 216-228.
Stache-Crain B, Müller DG, Goff LJ (1997) Molecular systematics of Ectocarpus and Kuckuckia (Ectocarpales, Phaeophyceae) inferred from phylogenetic analysis of nuclear-and plastidencoded DNA sequences. J. Phycol. 33: 152-168.
Stuart MD, Brown MT (1994) Growth and diet of cultivated blackfooted abalone, Haliotis iris (Martyn) Aquaculture 127: 329-337.
Sundene O (1962) The implications of transplant and culture experiments on the growth and distribution of Alaria esculenta. Nytt Mag. Bot. 9: 155-174.
U.S. Navy (1981) Marine Climatic Atlas of the World, Vol. IX. World-wide Means and Standard Deviations. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Widdowson TB (1971) A taxonomic revision of the genus Alaria Greville. Syesis 4: 11-49.
Wu CY (1998) The seaweed resources of China. In Critchley AT, Ohno M (eds), Seaweed Resources of the World. JICA, Yokosuka, Japan, pp. 34-46.
Yone Y, Furuichi M, Urano K (1986) Effects of dietary wakame Undaria pinnatifida and Ascophyllum nodosum supplements on growth, feed efficiency, and proximate composition of liver and muscle of the red sea bream. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 52: 1465-1488.
Zar JH (1996) Biostatistical analysis Edn 3. Prentice Hall International Editions, London, 1974. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 662 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kraan, S., Verges Tramullas, A. & Guiry, M.D. The edible brown seaweed Alaria esculenta (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales): hybridization, growth and genetic comparisons of six Irish populations. Journal of Applied Phycology 12, 577–583 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026519030398
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026519030398