Algae 2022, 37(2): 105-121
https://doi.org/10.4490/algae.2022.37.5.11
Open Access
Review
Copyright © 2022 The Korean Society of Phycology 105 http://e-algae.org pISSN: 1226-2617 eISSN: 2093-0860
Recent advances in seaweed seedling production: a review of
eucheumatoids and other valuable seaweeds
Calvin Jiksing
1
, McMarshall M. Ongkudon
2
, Vun Yee Tien
3
, Kenneth Francis Rodrigues
1
and Wilson Tau Lym Yong
1,4,
*
1
Biotechnology Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
2
Seadling Sdn. Bhd., Lot 32A-36, KKIP Industrial Zone 4, Phase 2, 88450 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
3
Innovation Center, Xiamen University Malaysia, Jalan Sunsuria, Bandar Sunsuria, 43900 Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan,
Malaysia
4
Seaweed Research Unit, Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota
Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Modern seaweed farming relies heavily on seedlings from natural beds or vegetative cuttings from previous harvests.
However, this farming method has some disadvantages, such as physiological variation in the seed stock and decreased
genetic variability, which reduces the growth rate, carrageenan yield, and gel strength of the seaweeds. A new method
of seedling production that is sustainable, scalable, and produces a large number of high-quality plantlets is needed to
support the seaweed farming industry. Recent use of tissue culture and micropropagation techniques in eucheumatoid
seaweed production has yielded promising results in increasing seed supply and growing uniform seedlings in large
numbers in a shorter time. Several seaweed species have been successfully cultured and regenerated into new plant-
lets in laboratories using direct regeneration, callus culture, and protoplast culture. Te use of biostimulants and plant
growth regulators in culture media increases the seedling quality even further. Seedlings produced by micropropagation
grew faster and had better biochemical properties than conventionally cultivated seedlings. Before being transferred
to a land-based grow-out system or ocean nets for farming, tissue-cultured seedlings were recommended to undergo
an acclimatization process to increase their survival rate. Regular monitoring is needed to prevent disease and pest in-
festations and grazing by herbivorous fsh and turtles during the farming process. Te current review discusses recent
techniques for producing eucheumatoid and other valuable seaweed farming materials, emphasizing the efciency of
micropropagation and the transition from laboratory culture to cultivation in land-based or open-sea grow-out systems
to elucidate optimal conditions for sustainable seaweed production.
Keywords: acclimatization; biostimulants; grow-out; micropropagation; plant growth regulators; seaweed seedlings
Abbreviations: 2,4-D, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid; AMPEP, Ascophyllum marine plant extract powder; BAP, 6-ben-
zylaminopurine; IAA, indole-3-acetic acid; NAA, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid; PAA, phenylacetic acid; PES, Provassoli’s En-
riched Seawater; PGRs, plant growth regulators
Received August 11, 2021, Accepted May 11, 2022
*Corresponding Author
E-mail: wilsonyg@ums.edu.my, wilsonyong80@yahoo.com
Tel: +60-88-320027, +60-88-320000 (ext. 5593),
Fax: +60-88-320993
Tis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms
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