Abstract
Sargassum thunbergii is an economically important brown alga that is used as a perferred food for sea cucumber in China. However, reports on the reproductive biology of S. thunbergii are limited. This study observed the characteristics of mature receptacles. The effects of different temperatures, light intensities, and photoperiods on the egg release of mature S. thunbergii receptacles were investigated. A liquid-phase oxygen electrode system was used to obtain light saturation and light compensation points of egg and young thalli of S. thunbergii. Results showed that temperature was the key factor for the egg release of mature receptacles. The conditions most conducive to egg release were 20°C to 23°C temperature and 50 μmol photons m-2·s-1 to 200 μmol photons m-2·s-1 light intensity. In addition, the light saturation and compensation points of unfertilized eggs or young thalli at 2 d or 3 d postfertilization ranged from 90 μmol photons m-2·s-1 to 120 μmol photons m-2·s-1 and 14 μmol photons m-2·s-1 to 22 μmol photons m-2·s-1, respectively. The combined results provide a reference for the sporeling culture of S. thunbergii.
Highlights
Sargassum thunbergii (Mertens ex Roth) Kuntze of the class Phaeophyceae, order Fucales, and family Sargassaceae is a commercially important seaweed with excellent properties
Specific issues that need investigations include the characteristics of receptacles and conceptacle ostiole, the influencing factors of egg release, and the light saturation and compensation points of fertilized eggs of S. thunbergii
The light saturation and light compensation points of unfertilized eggs or young thalli at 2 d or 3 d postfertilization ranged from 90 μmol photons m−2∙s−1 to 120 μmol photons m−2∙s−1 and 14 μmol photons m−2∙s−1 to 22 μmol photons m−2∙s−1, respectively
Summary
Sargassum thunbergii (Mertens ex Roth) Kuntze of the class Phaeophyceae, order Fucales, and family Sargassaceae is a commercially important seaweed with excellent properties. S. thunbergii is the best natural food for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) in China because of its nutritional value [1] [2]. (2014) Reproductive Biology of Sargassum thunbergii (Fucales, Phaeophyceae). Sargassum resource is heavily destroyed and scarce in Northern China because of the massive harvest of natural populations. Sexual reproduction is the primary approach to resolve the sporeling resource shortage of S. thunbergii. Studies on the reproductive biology of S. thunbergii are indispensable to rehabilitate the natural resource and promote the sporeling production of this seaweed in China [3]. Previous studies on S. thunbergii mainly focused on ecology, active ingredient, taxonomy, resource investigation, nutritional analysis, and population genetic structure [4]-[11]. Little is known about the reproductive biology of S. thunbergii at the very early sexual developmental stages. Specific issues that need investigations include the characteristics of receptacles and conceptacle ostiole, the influencing factors of egg release, and the light saturation and compensation points of fertilized eggs of S. thunbergii
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