Among the different types of seaweed that are cultivated in Korea for food, Capsosiphon fulvescensis the filamentous green alga with the highest production value. However, its harvest yield varies significantly from year to year due to its dependence on the natural seeding method. The present study aimed to identify the conditions affecting the formation of cyst-zygotes that can be utilized as artificial seeds during the life cycle of C. fulvescens. Gametangia and zygotes of C. fulvescens were found to be highly developed at temperatures above 15°C, with a maximum gametangial development rate of about 35% observed after 7 days of culture. The formation of zygotes into cystzygotes was induced within 7 days in all temperature conditions, but after 30 days of culturing, cyst-zygotes germinated into filamentous thalli at temperatures above 20°C, while the most stable formation and stabilization were observed at 15°C. Cystzygotes formed at 15°C showed high growth when they were transferred to 25°C conditions, and zoospores matured inside the cells. The production of cyst-zygotes was mostly influenced by temperature, and a gradual increase in temperature was found to be necessary for the formation and growth of cyst-zygotes. The culture conditions facilitating the formation of cyst-zygotes reported in this study can be useful for the production of artificial seeds and breeding technology for the effective cultivation of seaweed.

In recent years, macroalgal bloom occurs frequently in coastal oceans worldwide. It might be attributed to accelerating climate change. “Green tide” events caused by proliferation of green macroalgae (Ulva spp.) not only damage the local economy, but also harm coastal environments. These nuisance events have become common across several coastal regions of continents. In Korea, green tide incidences are readily seen throughout the year along the coastlines of Jeju Island, particularly the northeastern coast, since the 2000s. Ulva species are notorious to be difficult for morphology-based species identification due to their high degrees of phenotypic plasticity. In this study, to investigate temporal variation in Ulva community structure on Jeju Island between 2015 and 2020, chloroplast barcode tuf A gene was sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed for 152 specimens from 24 sites. We found that Ulva ohnoi and Ulva pertusa known to be originated from subtropical regions were the most predominant all year round, suggesting that these two species contributed the most to local green tides in this region. While U. pertusa was relatively stable in frequency during 2015 to 2020, U. ohnoi increased 16% in frequency in 2020 (36.84%), which might be associated with rising sea surface temperature from which U. ohnoi could benefit. Two species (Ulva flexuosa, Ulva procera) of origins of Europe should be continuously monitored. The findings of this study provide valuable information and molecular genetic data of genus Ulva occurring in southern coasts of Korea, which will help mitigate negative influences of green tide events on Korea coast.

A marine ulvalean species (Chlorophyta) was collected from the eastern coast of Korea. This species is morphologically characterized by a distromatic, dark to medium green and mostly irregularly orbicular or irregularly expanded thallus with entire or undulate margin without serrations. Vegetative cells are irregularly polygonal with distinctly rounded corners in shape, and have chloroplast completely covering the outer cell wall and one to two pyrenoids per cell. In a phylogenetic tree based on ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) sequences, this Korean alga nests in the same clade with Ulva sublittoralis, as a sister clade of U. californica, U. flexuosa and U. tanneri, which share the irregularly orbicular or expanded thallus normally without teeth cells. The genetic divergence between them is intraspecific within Ulva. Accordingly, it is identified as U. sublittoralis based on the morphological and molecular data. This is the first record of Ulva sublittoralis in the Korean marine algal flora.

A marine green algal species (Chlorophyta) was collected from the eastern coast of Korea. It is morphologically characterized by monostromatic thallus, usually undulate and entire margins, cap-like chloroplast and several pyrenoids per cell. In a phylogenetic tree based on molecular data, the Korean alga nests in the same clade as Monostroma alittorale originally described from Japan, as a sister clade of M. grevillei from France. The genetic distance for ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) sequences among Monostroma species ranges from 2.3% to 38.2%. The value between the Korean entity and M. alittorale was calculated as 0.01%, considered to be intraspecific divergence. This Korean entity is identified as Monostroma alittorale based on morphological and molecular analyses. This is the first record of M. alittorale in Korea.

In 2017, the freshwater algae were collected from reservoirs, small ponds, soil, and rocks in Korea. Eight taxa of Chlorophyta (Chlorophyceae and Trebouxiophyceae) have been newly reported in Korea. The unrecorded indigenous species were Chlorolobion braunii, Coelastrum pseudomicroporum, Coelastrum reticulatum var. cubanum, Monoraphidium nanum, Tetrachlorella incerta, Ecdysichlamys obliqua, Gloeotila scopulina, and Stichococcus jenerensis.

Phytoplanktons were collected from various environments including small marshes, small ponds, reservoirs and brackish water from March 2017 to November 2017. In this study, five species of family Scenedesmaceae were newly recorded in Korea. The genus Desmodesmus was newly reported in Korea. The newly recorded species are Scenedesmus nanus, S. praetervisus, Desmodesmus costato-granulatus, D. lunatus and D. spinulatus. S. nanus and S. praetervisus are known to occur in freshwater, but they were found in the brackish water in this study.

Two siphonous green algae were collected from the eastern coast of Korea. These species share the typical features of Derbesia sporophytes, such as erect and prostrate siphonous filaments and the presence of basal septum in lateral branches. One is characterized by the combined features of a relatively small tufted sporophytic thalli arising from a rhizoidal base, subdichotomously branched filaments with a basal septum and one pyrenoid per subspherical to lenticular chloroplast. The other shows a larger sporophytic thallus, sparsely subdichotomously branched filaments with a basal septum and one pyrenoid per spherical chloroplast. In a phylogenetic tree based on rbcL sequence, the two above-mentioned Korean algae nest in the same clades as Derbesia minima and D. indica, respectively. The genetic distance between the sequences within the clades was 0.5- 0.8%, which is considered to be included in the intra-specific range for the genus. These two siphonous Korean algae are identified as D. minima and D. indica, respectively, based on the morphological and molecular analyses. These species are newly recorded in the Korean marine algal flora herein.

A marine ulvalean species (Chlorophyta) was collected from Imgok, which is located on the eastern coast of Korea. This species is morphologically characterized by distromatic, filiform to strap compressed or tubular thallus. Many branches were found near the base, but lacked proliferations. Cells were longitudinally aligned in the younger part of the branch and were disordered in the older part of the branch. A cap-like parietal chloroplast with one or two pyrenoids was contained in each cell. In a phylogenetic tree based on ITS and rbcL sequences, this species was nested in the same clade as Ulva torta and U. clathratioides from Australia, but formed a sister clade to U. torta from Japan. However, the genetic divergence between them was included in an intraspecific variation range within Ulva. This finding suggests that U. clathratioides should be reduced to a synonym of U. torta. Accordingly, the Korean alga was identified as U. torta based on the morphological and molecular data. This investigation is the first record of U. torta in the Korean marine algal flora.

The freshwater algae were collected at reservoirs and small ponds in Gyeonggi-do and Jeju-do on June 2016. Four species of Korean previously unrecorded algae were collected in domestic fresh waters: Coelastrum rugosum, Cosmarium baccatum, Cosmarium norimbergense and Staurastrum connatum var. pseudoamericanum. The morphological characteristics of the four taxa identified in this study were showed mostly similar to the characteristics of the previously reported characteristics. However, Cosmarium baccatum was larger than the previously recorded species and Staurastrum connatum var. pseudoamericanum was wider than the previously recorded species.

To examine the effect of Codium fragile on blood cholesterol and lipid metabolism, hyperlipidemia was induced in experimental animal rats through the administration of a hypercholesterolemic diet. Codium fragile powder was then administered to the rats fo

Freshwater green algae are one of the important sources of bioenergy in the future. Spirogyra is a conjugating filamentous zygnematacean green algal genus that is widely distributed worldwide with more than 400 species. Despite its widespread occurrence throughout the world, cytological studies of the genus have been limited. We investigated karyological features and chromosome numbers for seven Korean Spirogyra species. Most of the species examined in the present study showed significant karyological features, inner organization of nucleolus, heavily stainable nucleolar substance and the diffuse-centric nature of chromosomes, typical of the Conjugales. Chromosome number ranged from n=12 in S. varians to n=38 in S. africana. Aberrant cytokinesis resulted in binucleate and tetranucleate cells, which sometimes provide cytological explanation for different morphology and ploidal changes in clonal culture of Spirogyra or even different cells within the same filament. The present chromosome data also substantiates the earlier held assumption that aneuploidy must have been the chief driving force for speciation and evolution of the genus Spirogyra.