Unraveling the nuclear and chloroplast genomes of an agar producing red macroalga, Gracilaria changii (Rhodophyta, Gracilariales).

Agar and agarose have wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. Knowledge on the genome of red seaweeds that produce them is still lacking. To fill the gap in genome analyses of these red algae, we have sequenced the nuclear and organellar genomes of an agarophyte, Gracilaria changii.

Global Transcriptome Analysis of Gracilaria changii (Rhodophyta) in Response to Agarolytic Enzyme and Bacterium.

Many bacterial epiphytes of agar-producing seaweeds secrete agarase that degrade algal cell wall matrix into oligoagars which elicit defense-related responses in the hosts. The molecular defense responses of red seaweeds are largely unknown. In this study, we surveyed the defense-related transcripts of an agarophyte, Gracilaria changii, treated with β-agarase through next generation sequencing (NGS).