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Regeneration of whole plants from protoplasts of Gracilaria gracilis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta)

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Abstract

This paper reports the first successful regeneration of whole plants from protoplasts of Gracilaria gracilis (Stackhouse) Steentoft, Irvine and Farnham. Protoplasts were isolated and purified using a previously optimized protocol. Protoplasts with regenerated cell walls divided to produce callus-like cell masses which showed the presence of uniseriate, filamentous outgrowths. Bud outgrowth from callus masses was associated with a distinct change in colour intensity at the point of outgrowth. Ultimately, whole plants were regenerated from the callus-like cell masses with overall yields of approximately two to three whole plants per 104 protoplasts seeded. Two distinctive patterns of regeneration were observed. In the first case, protoplasts regenerated slowly to produce plants which resembled the parent plants, exhibiting slender, branched thalli. Growth rates of regenerated seaweed were similar to that of wild-type G. gracilis cultured under the same conditions with 115 g of seaweed cultured from 15 individually regenerated plants over a year. In the second case, protoplasts regenerated rapidly to produce plants which remained small with thalli that were thick and unbranched and had a limited life span. These results provide an important foundation for the development of a successful tissue culture system for G. gracilis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Irvine and Johnson Abalone Culture Division, Danger Point, Gansbaai, South Africa for supplying G. gracilis. This work was funded by a National Research Foundation (NRF) grant (GUN 2053564) awarded to VEC and a Medical Research Council of South Africa grant awarded to AEM. SMH was supported by a NRF Scarce Skills Scholarship and a University of Cape Town student bursary.

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  1. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa

    Suzanne M. Huddy, Ann E. Meyers & Vernon E. Coyne

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  1. Suzanne M. Huddy
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  2. Ann E. Meyers
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  3. Vernon E. Coyne
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Correspondence to Ann E. Meyers.

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Huddy, S.M., Meyers, A.E. & Coyne, V.E. Regeneration of whole plants from protoplasts of Gracilaria gracilis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta). J Appl Phycol 27, 427–435 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0278-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0278-6

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