The Gracilariaceae is a small

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

red algae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

containing several genera of agarophytes. It has a world-wide distribution. 24 species are found in China, and 6 species are found in Great Britain and Ireland. It is found in Australia and Chile. They are normally found in intertidal bays, back waters and

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

. The family have been extensively investigated over the last 30 years, and various studies have yielded comprehensive information on their life history, cultivation, taxonomy, and utilization (Bellorin et al. 2002, Rueness 2005). Studies on the structure of their reproductive organs and the phylogenetic relationships among species inferred from

rbcL Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase, commonly known by the abbreviations RuBisCo, rubisco, RuBPCase, or RuBPco, is an enzyme () involved in the first major step of carbon fixation, a process by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is con ...

sequence analyses have produced three clades at the genus level, namely ''Gracilaria'', ''Gracilariopsis'', and ''Hydropuntia'' (Gurgel and Fredericq 2004). In 2012, the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

, Brazil set up the Gracilariaceae Germplasm Bank, to use molecule markers for the identification of species.

Genera

As accepted by

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

; * '' Crassiphycus'' (7) * '' Curdiea'' (3) * '' Graacilaria'' (1) * ''

Gracilaria ''Gracilaria'' is a genus of red algae (Rhodophyta) notable for its economic importance as an agarophyte, as well as its use as a food for humans and various species of shellfish. Various species within the genus are cultivated among Asia, South ...

'' (122) * '' Gracilariophila'' (2) * '' Gracilariopsis'' (17) * '' Hydropuntia'' (13) * '' Melanthalia'' (3) Figures in brackets are approx. how many species per genus.

Uses

They are economically important, as

Agar Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from ogonori (''Gracilaria'') and "tengusa" (''Gelidiaceae''). As found in nature, agar is ...

can be derived from many types of red seaweeds, including those from families such as ''

Gelidiaceae The Gelidiaceae is a small family of red algae containing eight genera. Many species of this algae are used to make agar. Uses Agar can be derived from many types of red seaweeds, including those from families such as ''Gelidiaceaae'', ''Gracila ...

'', ''Gracilariaceae'', '' Gelidiellaceae'' and '' Pterocladiaceae''. It is a

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wa ...

located in the inner part of the red algal cell wall. It is used in food material, medicines, cosmetics, therapeutic and biotechnology industries.Mohammed Kuddus and Roohi (editors)

References

Other sources

* Bellorin AM, Buriyo A, Sohrabipour J, Oliveira MC, Oliveira EC (2008) Gracilariopsis mclachlanii sp. nov. and Gracilariopsis persica sp. nov. of the Gracilariaceae (Gracilariales, Rhodophyceae) from the Indian Ocean. J Phycol 44:1022–1032 * Conklin KY, O'Doberty DC, Sherwood AR (2014) Hydropuntia perplexa, n. comb. (Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta), first record of the genus in Hawaii. Pac Sci 68:421–434 * Kamiya, M., Lindstrom, S.C., Nakayama, T., Yokoyama, A., Lin, S.-M., Guiry, M.D., Gurgel, F.D.G., Huisman, J.M., Kitayama, T., Suzuki, M., Cho, T.O. & Frey, W. 2017. Rhodophyta. In: Syllabus of Plant Families, 13th ed. Part 2/2: Photoautotrophic eukaryotic Algae. (Frey, W. Eds), pp. ��xii, ��171. Stuttgart: Borntraeger Science Publishers. ISBN 978-3-443-01094-2. {{Authority control Red algae families Edible algae