Abstract
Seaweeds are taxonomically diverse group of marine plants from which the land plants diverged over fifty crore years ago. Traditionally having been classified based on plant color as green, brown and red, modern molecular systematic evidences suggest that these plants are extraordinarily diverse. A number of seaweeds are edible and have been projected as a future food source. Seaweeds are also important to humanity in a number of ways, including as a source of medicines, food supplements, industrial chemicals, and as a potential candidate for biofuel research and CCS (carbon capture and sequestration). This article introduces the readers to the fascinating world of marine biology in general and seaweeds in particular, with an emphasis on Indian flora.
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Felix Bast is DST-INSPIRE Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Central University of Punjab, Bathinda. His doctoral research was on molecular phylogeography of green seaweeds of Japan. He is currently exploring the coasts of India, discovering endemic seaweeds and enjoying spectacular scenes from rocky intertidal habitats.
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Bast, F. Seaweeds. Reson 19, 149–159 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-014-0018-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-014-0018-x