On the efficacy of an Ascophyllum -based, soluble extract in association with standard plant growth regulators on the mi
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On the efficacy of an Ascophyllum-based, soluble extract in association with standard plant growth regulators on the micropropagation of the agarophyte, Gracilaria blodgettii, from seaweed farms located at the northern entrance of the Panama Canal Gloria Batista de Vega 1,2 & Carlos E. Ulloque N 3,4 & Anicia Q. Hurtado 5 & Lynn Cornish 6 & Alan T. Critchley 7 Received: 17 December 2019 / Revised and accepted: 27 May 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Gracilaria spp. (agarophytes) are cultivated by Panamanian communities to use directly as food and as important components of traditional medicines and remedies. These uses are part of the traditional culture of both the Guna Indians and the Afro-Antillean communities. One driving force to better understand the biology of the various species of Gracilaria is their additional, commercial uses based on the agars they produce. In this study, we evaluated the effects of two commercial, soluble extract powders of the temperate, brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (i.e., Ascophyllum marine plant extract powder—AMPEP), and one which had a boosted potassium level (designated as AMPEP K+). Each was evaluated for any micropropagation effects on the tropical red alga, Gracilaria blodgettii, in three independent experiments each of which lasted 45 days (the normal grow-out period). The phyco-stimulatory extracts were tested with and without association with standard plant growth regulators which are commonly used in micropropagation practices for higher plants. Growth was measured as a function of increased fresh weight and the number of newly emergent lateral shoots. This study demonstrated that vegetative propagules of G. blodgettii treated with AMPEP at 0.1 mg L−1 provided significant contributions to the successful and sustainable supply of vegetative propagules (“seedstock”). We suggest that the costs and quality of seedstock production can be significantly reduced over traditional methods, thereby contributing to the establishment of much-needed, viable marine farming practices in the Panamanian Caribbean. Keywords Ascophyllum nodosum . Gracilaria blodgettii . AMPEP . AMPEP K+ . Agarophytes . Shoot emergence . Seaweed aquaculture
Introduction Globally, Gracilaria spp. have in recent years shown consistent increases in market demand, along with a significant lack of crop management. The demand for dried Gracilaria raw * Gloria Batista de Vega [email protected]
materials has increased, both to meet local supplies and to fulfill export opportunities (FAO 2018). The genus Gracilaria is a cosmopolitan seaweed found abundantly from tropical to sub-tropical and temperate waters. Gracilaria is the third largest genus in the Rhodophyta, with 4
Rodman Marine Laboratory, Republic of Panama and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, PO Box 0843-03092Building # 1516, Panama, Republic of Panama
5
Integrated Services for the Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries (ISDA) Inc., MacArthur Highway, Tabuc Suba, Jaro, 5000 Iloilo City, Philippines
1
Rodman Marine Lab
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