Review on Recent Advances of Gracilariopsis Lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta)

Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis is an economical red algae that is an important raw material for agar production. Although researchers have obtained several high-yield cultivars (e.g., 981 and 2007), their growth is still limited and influenced by several environmental factors such as heat stress and nitrogen restriction. In recent years, agar metabolism, photosynthesis, and tetrasporophyte development in G. lemaneiformis have emerged as prominent areas of research for investigators to unravel the molecular mechanism in development and reproduction. In addition, with the development of genomics and transcriptomics, more regulatory factors have been revealed, and the emergence of gene editing technology has also brought new possibilities for the genetic breeding of G. lemaneiformis. We have summarized the information here and provided an invaluable resource for future studies on G. lemaneiformis.