Growth experiments on morphological mutants of Gracilaria tikvahiae (Rhodophyceae)

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Abstract
The growth of morphological mutants of G. tikvahiae [for potential agar production] was compared with that of wild-type clones in tanks of flowing seawater in a greenhouse. At low density 4 mutants grew faster than a related wild type, and 2, MP-40 and MP-44, grew faster than any of the wild clones tested. Of the mutants, MP-40 consistently had the fastest growth rate at low density. At high density MP-40 and MP-44 grew faster than wild type; however, MP-44 had the faster growth rate and gave the higher yields. Both of these mutants removed N (NH4+) from seawater faster than the wild types and both were much more epiphyte resistant, with MP-40 scoring highest for both of these characteristics.