Hydrobiologia 512: 11–20, 2004.

P.O. Ang, Jr. (ed.), Asian Pacific Phycology in the 21st Century: Prospects and Challenges. 11
© 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

The past, present and future of phycology in China

C. K. Tseng
Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
E-mail: [email protected]

Key words: Chinese phycology, algal taxonomy, ecology, algal biotechnology, cultivation, science history

Abstract
Algae have been part of Chinese life for thousands of years. They are widely used as food and have been cited in
Chinese literature as early as 2500 years ago. However, formal taxonomic studies on Chinese algae were initiated
by foreign scientists only about 200 years ago, and by Chinese phycologists only about 90 years ago. This paper
summarizes the history of modern phycological studies on Chinese algae and provides an overview of the achieve-
ments of phycological studies by Chinese scientists, especially on algal taxonomy, morphology, genetics, ecology
and environmental research, physiology, biotechnology, algal culture, applied phycology and space phycology, in
the last century. Recent development in phycological research focuses on algal floristic and molecular systematics,
algal molecular biotechnology, applied phycology including micro and macroalgal cultivation and algal product
development, and the roles of algae in environmental pollution control. These areas will also be the main focuses
of Chinese phycological research in the foreseeable future.

Introduction Tilden (1929), Yamada (1925, 1950), Okamura (1931,

1936), Setchell (1931a, b; 1933, 1935, 1936), Grubb
Although phycology, the study of algae, was started (1932) and Noda (1971).
in the west, the earliest bibliographic record of the The first report on Chinese fresh water algae
algae appeared in an old Chinese book Shijing (Poem was undoubtedly that by the French scientist P. Petit
Classic), at least 2500 years ago. This paper reviews who published a paper on Ningbo algae in 1880.
only contributions to Chinese phycology. Borge published in 1899 a collection of freshwater al-
gae by the Russian military officer N.-M. Przewalski
from North and Northwest China and determined by
Reports on taxonomy of Chinese algae by foreign K. Maximoviz. The German scientists, E. Lemmer-
scientists man and H. Schauinland, reported their collection of
Asian algae and algae from Jinjiang to Zhenjiang in
Modern study of the algae started about 200 years ago 1899, 1901, 1907. The Russian P.K. Kozov collected
by Dawson Turner (1809) on a Chinese alga, Fucus algal specimens from Mongolia and Tibet in 1899-
tenax Turner (= Gloiopeltis tenax (Turner) Decaisne), 1901, and the lists were published in 1907 by C.S.
a silk sizing seaweed. In the last century six other Mereshkowsky. The American scientist N.G. Gee pub-
scientists had dealt with Chinese seaweeds, includ- lished a series of papers on Zhejiang and Jiangsu algae
ing C. Agardh (1820), Montagne (1840), J. Agardh in 1919 and 1926. The French L. Vaillant and C. Gaud-
(1848, 1879), Kuetzing (1849), Martens (1866) and ichaud collected some fresh water algae at Macau in
Debeaux (1875). In the present century, there were 1836–1837; these algae were reported in 1844–1846
at least 14 foreign scientists interested in Chinese by C. Montagne. The famous Swedish explorer A.
seaweeds, including Gepp (1904), Cotton (1915), Sven Hedin visited China six times and collected some
Grunow (1915, 1916), Ariga (1919), Collins (1919), algae which were later published by F. Hustedh in
Reinbold (1919), Cowdry (1922), Howe (1924, 1934), 1922, W. Wille in 1930 and Borge in 1934. Another
12

famous explorer, the Austrian H. Handel-Mazzetie papers and edited two books. The fifth phycologist
came to China in 1913 and had also collected some is Nie Dashu (Prof. Ni Da-Shu), a protozoologist
algae which were studied and published by H.Skuja turning to a Dinophyta phycologist and published his
in his Symbolla Sinica in 1937. Other investigators first paper in 1934 (Wang & Nie, 1934), and alto-
were J.E. Tilden in 1920, Okada in 1932 and 1936, gether 12 papers. Professor Nie eventually became
K. Negora in 1940, 1941, 1943 and 1953, Mashiko in the first Chinese specialist on aquatic animal diseases.
1951 and M. Noda in 1963 and 1971. This brief dis- The sixth phycologist is Chin Teh-Chiang (Prof. Jin
cussion on the reports of foreign scientists on Chinese De-Xiang) who was originally a zoologist and after
fresh-water algae is extracted from a report on the his- obtaining M.Sc. at Lingnan University in 1935 be-
tory of systematic classification of Chinese freshwater came interested in phytoplankton; he published his
algae by Professors Bi, Hu and Liu (Bi et al., 2001) first phycological paper in 1937 (Chin, 1937) and stud-
containing the necessary references. ied diatoms ever since, publishing 65 papers and four
books. The seventh phycologist is Chu Hao-Ran (Zhu
Hao-Ran), a former student of Dr Jao who published
Modern study of phycology by Chinese scientists his first paper in 1944 (Chu, 1944), and altogether 40
papers and one book. The eighth phycologist is Ley
Modern study of phycology by Chinese scientists was Shang-Hao (Prof. Li Shang-Hao), also a former stu-
undoubtedly initiated by C.S. Chien (Professor Qian dent of Dr Jao, published his first phycological paper
Chong Shu) who published a physiology paper in 1917 in 1944 (Ley, 1944), and altogether 9 papers and one
on ‘Peculiar Effects of Barium, Strontium and Cesium book.
on Spirogyra’ (Chien, 1917). Professor H.H. Chung The above eight phycologists, including three ma-
came back to China after some years of postgradu- rine and five freshwater phycologists, were practically
ate study at Harvard University in U.S. Apparently, the few scientists devoted to the study of algae be-
he took a course on algae at the Woods Hole Marine fore 1949 who continued their studies of taxonomic
Biology Laboratory in the early twenties and became phycology after 1949. After the establishment of the
interested in phycology. In his trip to the vicinity People’s Republic of China, the Chinese people es-
of Xiamen and other places in Fujian, Guizhou and pecially people of the coastal provinces, pay more
Hubei Provinces, he collected not only vascular plant attention to the algae and a few universities even offer
specimens but also algal specimens including sea- courses in phycology. Many scientists are involved in
weeds and freshwater algae. He did not study the algal the study of different phases of algae. In taxonomic
specimens himself but sent them to Dr N.L. Gardner of study of the algae, we may mention just a few, such as
U.S. He even taught a course on algology at Xiamen Profs Chiang Young-Ming of Taiwan and Fan Kung-
University in 1929 in which I had the opportunity to Chu of mainland China, both students of the late Dr
attend. George Papenfuss of U.S., Profs Zheng Bo-Lin, Zhang
Jun-Fu, Xia Bangmei and Lu Baoren, students of Dr
Taxonomic phycology C.K. Tseng, Prof. Bi Lie-Jiao, a student of Dr C.C.
Jao.
The first Chinese to study taxonomic phycology in As is in the other botanical and zoological sci-
China is Wang Chu-Chia (Prof. Wang Zhi-Jia) who ences, taxonomy always preceeds other sciences. A
published his first paper in 1930 (Wang, 1930), and total of 40 000 specimens of marine algae and 30 000
altogether 12 papers. The next one is Li Liang-Ching specimens of freshwater algae have been collected re-
(Dr L.C. Li) who published in 1932 an abstract of spectively by the Institute of Oceanology and Institute
his dissertation of Doctor’s degree (Li, 1932), and of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
altogether 29 papers. The third phycologist is C.K. (CAS) alone. The publication of the Cryptogamic
Tseng (Dr Zeng Cheng-Kui) who published his first Floras of China started in the seventies, consisting
phycological paper in 1933 (Tseng, 1933), and alto- of five floras (1) Marine algal flora, (2) Fresh wa-
gether, to date, 344 papers, of which 97 concerned ter algal flora, (3) Fungal flora, (4) Lichen flora and
taxonomy and resources, and edited 12 books. The (5) Mosses and Liverworts flora. The algal flora was
fourth phycologist is Jao Chin-Chih (Dr Rao Qin-Zhi) split into two because persons involved and collect-
who published his first paper on Chinese phycology ing methods in these studies are different from one
in 1935 (Jao, 1934), and altogether 76 phycological another. In the marine algal flora (Flora Algarum Mar-
 13

inarum Sinicarum) two volumes have been published: ological expeditions (1958–1962), coastal zones and
Vol. 2, Rhodophyta, No. 5 Ahnfeltiales, Gigartinales beaches investigation (1981–1986), islands investi-
and Rhodymeniales by Xia & Zhang (1999) describ- gation (1990–1992), and Xisha and Nansha Islands
ing 17 families, 40 genera and 104 species; and Vol. expeditions (1980–1999). In these studies, Guo was
3, Phaeophyta No. 2 Fucales by Tseng & Lu (1999) in charge of the phytoplankton study. She contributed
describing 3 families, 6 genera and 141 species. Two a paper on the primary productivity and phytoplankton
more volumes on Ceramiales (Rhodophyta) by Zheng of the Kuroshio (Y.J. Guo, 1991). She believed that the
Bo-Lin et al. and on Centricae (Bacillarophyta) by Kuroshio area was one of the unproductive regions in
Guo Yu-Jie are in the process of editing and will be the world oceans, although it was a little more pro-
ready for printing soon. In the fresh water algal flora ductive than the regions near the Equator. In a study
(Flora Algarum Sinicarum Aqua Dulcis) six volumes of the characteristics of phytoplankton distribution in
have already been published: Vol. 1, Zygnemataceae the Yellow Sea, Guo & Zhang (1996) pointed out that
by C.C. Jao (1986); Vol. 2, Chroococcophyceae by the horizontal and vertical distribution patterns of the
H.R. Chu (1991); Vol. 3, Charophyta by Han Fushan phytoplankton in the Yellow Sea in May and Septem-
& Li Yaoying (1994); Vol. 4, Centric diatoms by Qi ber in 1992 were similar but the average abundance
Yuzao (1995); Vol. 5, Ulothricales, Ulvales, Chaeto- and species number of phytoplankton in September
phorales, Trentepohliales and Sphaeropleales by Li were higher than those in May. Diatoms dominated
Shang-Hao & Bi Lie-Jiao (1998); and Vol. 6, Euglen- the 142 species of phytoplankton identified.
ophyta by Shi Zhixin (1999). Two more volumes are Since the seventies, our scientists paid special at-
in the process of being edited, and will be ready for tention to marine pollution ecology, especially the
printing soon. ecology of red tides. On the ecological dynamics of
the red tide, it was found that between Noctiluca
Basic study on morphology, ecology and physiology scintillans (Macartney) Ehrenberg and Skeletonema
of the algae costatum (Grev.) Cleve, Prorocentrum minimum (Pa-
vilard) Schiller and Skeletonema, there was in exist-
Algal morphology ence a definite interspecific competition and that the
Tseng & Chang (1954, 1955) started their investiga- appearance of different red tides was related to the N/P
tion on the life history of Porphyra tenera Kjellman in ratio (Zou, 1999). Investigation on the poisonous sub-
early 1952, independent of Kurogi of Japan and solved stance present in shellfish may indicate the distribution
the problem of the ‘seed’ of Porphyra in its cultiva- of the poisonous algae (Zhou et al., 1999).
tion. This they called ‘conchospore’ which has been Gymnodinium mikimotoi Miyake et Kominami ex
followed by most phycologists. In the eighties, Tseng Oda was one of the principal red tide organisms in
& Sun (1989) studied the chromosome numbers of the the red tide occurring in Hong Kong and Guangdong
Conchocelis stage of Porphyra and the alternation of Province, resulting in the death of many aquaculture
the nuclear phases and chromosome numbers. They fish in 1998 (Qi et al., 2004). An investigation was
revealed the astonishing phenomenon that meiosis oc- conducted by Jinan University on the mechanism of
curs in the germinating conchospores (Tseng & Sun, this Dinophyte on the fish and found out that this Dino-
1989). phyte can cause swelling on the upper skin tissue of
the fish gills. This resulted in the complete obstruction
Algal ecology of the gills, leading to the death of the fish.
The most difficult job in algal ecology takes place
in marine expeditions. One has to collect the speci- Algal physiology
mens of phytoplankton by special devices, to analyze In the early forties when C.K. Tseng worked on a
the collected specimens, to identify them and to write special agar project, he initiated a study of the photo-
out reports. Algal ecological work actually started in synthesis of Gelidium cartilagineum (L.) Gaillon and
1954 when we initiated fishery expedition under the published a paper in 1946 (Tseng & Sweeney, 1946).
ichthyologist Professor Zhang Xiao-Wei and the eco- In the sixties a study was made on the pigment sys-
logical group was led by Dr Zhu Shup-Ping with Guo tem and photosynthesis of Porphyra yezoensis Ueda
Yu-Jie as his assistant. The population was analyzed (Zhou et al., 1966). Unfortunately the researches had
and the ecological characteristics of the dominated to stop in late 1966 because of the so-called ‘Cultural
species decided. This was followed by national ocean- Revolution’. The work was resumed in 1973, and a
14

comparative study of the spectrum absorption of some The Shandong College of Oceanography, in co-
species of green, brown and red seaweeds was made operation with Rongcheng Laminaria Seedling Sta-
and published in 1974 (Zhou et al., 1974). A series tion and Rongcheng Aquaculture Station, used a se-
of papers on comparative photosynthesis of benthic lected female gametophyte to cross with the male
seaweeds was published by Tseng et al. (1980, 1981a, gametophyte from a thick frond sporophyte and ob-
b). The discovery of Prochloron in the Xisha (Paracel) tained a new strain called ‘Danhai No. 1’ which gave
Islands (Zeng et al., 1982), led us to discussion on the a higher yield and better quality than the best variety
evolution of photosynthetic organisms (Tseng & Zhou, used in cultivation at that time (Fang et al., 1983).
1983a, b; 1984). In 1981, Fang and his group employed the hybrid
between the female haploid clone No. 10 and the
Algal genetics male haploid cell introduced from Hokkaido, Japan.
Talking about algal genetics, we must pay due respect A new strain was obtained, the ‘Danza No. 10’, which
to the late Prof. T.C. Fang (Fang Zong-Xi), the founder was estimated to increase the yield by 30% (Fang
of this science in China. Fang was trained as a hu- et al., 1985). The bountiful Laminaria harvest became
man geneticist in England and returned to China in a reality and this must be partially credited to Prof.
1950. In 1953, he accepted the invitation of Shan- Fang.
dong University, then in Qingdao, and joined the staff.
Later in 1959 when the Shandong University moved Studies on microalgae, biotechnology and space
to Jinan, he stayed and joined the staff of Shandong phycology
College of Oceanography. He was invited by the Insti-
tute of Oceanology, CAS, to be a part-time research Microalgae
fellow and in charge of genetic research. He used In the fifties, the investigation on feeding marine ju-
the cultivated Laminaria as the main subject for ge- venile aquatic animals with some microalgae such as
netic research. In 1959, the principal problems of the Tetraselmis, Phaeodactylum, Pavlova was carried out.
cultivation of Laminaria japonica Aresch. had been The animal growers were provided with the seeds of
solved and large-scale cultivation had just started. these algae and instructions for their cultivation. In
The problems concerning genetics of the Laminaria the early sixties, cultivation of the freshwater alga
became significant. The Laminaria employed is the Chlorella sp. in large scale was tried but failed. In
wild natural population, rather than selected strains. the eighties, the brine alga Dunaliella was started to
However, Laminaria has sexual reproduction. In the be cultivated in large scale and Dunaliella cultivation
spore collecting process, two or more plants were is now an established industry (Guo, 1991). In the
used. The resulting sporophytes were a mix of those seventh five-year plan, one of the problems was to
from hybridization and those from a single plant self- decrease the dependence of aquaculture on imported
fertilization. Fang made an experiment with both and fish protein. It was decided to study three microal-
showed that hybrid sporophytes exhibited a two times gae because of their high protein contents, namely,
faster in growth in area than those obtained from self Dunaliella, Anabaena and Spirulina. It was found
fertilization (Fang & Jiang, 1962). that Spirulina gave the best and most proteinaceous
From 1959–1984, Fang and his students at the products. It was further found that Spirulina is an
Institute of Oceanology, CAS and the Shandong Col- excellent health food for humans (Wu et al., 1993).
lege of Oceanology conducted 25 years of genetical During the following years, there had been a Spirulina
research on Laminaria and later also on Undaria. ‘fever’ in Chinese society and more than 100 enter-
On the conviction that the cultivated Laminaria is a prises were involved in Spirulina production. There
hybrid, they employed self-fertilization to produce a are now still quite a few enterprises producing tablets
few new strains of Laminaria, such as the broad leaf for human consumption (Liang et al., 2004).
strain ‘Haiqing No. 1’, the long leaf strain ‘Haiqing
No. 2’, and the thick leaf strain ‘Haiqing No. 3’. They Biotechnology
obtained clones of male and female gametophytes Biotechnology has been effected in marine algae in
and discovered that parthenogenetically developed fe- the following six categories: (1) In hybridization
male gametophytes gave rise to female sporophytes technique, hybrids of Laminaria japonica have been
which produced zoospores that grew to become female obtained. (2) In cellular and protoplast technique, cul-
sporophytes (Fang & Dai, 1984). tivation of Porphyra haitanensis Chang et Zheng has
 15

been effected with vegetative cell; growth of isolated 1997). The possible mechanisms of responses of
seaweed protoplast of Ulva, Enteromorpha, Mono- Dunaliella salina (Dunal) Teodoresco to simulated
stroma, Porphyra and Chondrus has been obtained. microgravity showed the plasma membrane to be the
(3) Algal immobilization technique has been attemp- most direct site of paraperception and a theoretical
ted for seedstock and seedling production. (4) In tissue model for micro-gravi-sensing, transduction and re-
culture technique, tissue cultures of Laminaria japon- sponses of the organism was proposed (Hu & Liu,
ica and Undaria pinnatifida (Harv.) Sur. have been 1997d).
effected. (5) In processing of natural products, includ-
ing bioactive substances, some work on anti-tumor Applied studies on cultivation of seaweeds and the
and anti-radiation effect of marine algae has been done seaweed industry
and the hypolipodermis medicine PSS from Laminaria
japonica has been awarded golden medal in the 15th Cultivation of algae
International Fair of Invention in Yugoslavia. (6) In Cultivation of seaweeds by traditional methods, to the
biotechnology industry, we have promoted mass cul- knowledge of the author, dealing with Gloiopeltis and
tivation of Dunaliella for the β-carotene and that of Porphyra has been in existence in China for several
Spirulina for its high protein content (Tseng & Qin, hundred years. Modern methods of cultivation are,
1991). however, only about forty something years old. Rafts
in various forms are generally applied. Three kinds of
Space phycology methods are practiced.
Space biology is quite a new thing in China, espe-
Zoospores method, the Laminaria type of mariculture
cially space phycology for which we have to thank
The zoospores of Laminaria or Undaria are collected
the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of
and cultured. Laminaria japonica is a cold temper-
Sciences. A good discussion of this research is found
ate alga and can survive in summer water temperature
in Liu et al. (2001). In the Chinese Journal of Space
of 20–25 ◦ C, but cannot survive in temperature above
Science, Vol. 17, supplement 1997, several papers
25 ◦ C for a long time. We have devised a summer
were published by Prof. Y.D. Liu and his colleagues.
sporeling method in which zoospores are collected in
In there, Prof. Liu and his colleagues summarized
early June, the gametophyte and young sporophyte
the interesting points about microgravity biology,
stages pass the hot summer in cooled rooms of 10 ◦ C,
space physiology, cell culture and tissue engineering,
and the young sporophytes are taken out to the sea in
space exploitation and some details concerning gravi-
Autumn when water temperature gets down to 20 ◦ C.
sensing (Hu & Liu, 1997a, b; Song et al., 1997). They
The summer sporeling method is very suitable for cul-
found in the flight experiment that in Chlorella pyren-
tivation of cold temperate plants in warm temperate or
oidosa Chick the number of pyrenoides conspicuously
even subtropical regions (Tseng et al., 1955; Tseng,
diminished and in Anabaena its fat body significantly
1981).
decreased in size. Their experiments on Anabaena
oryza Fritsch strains retrieved from space flight and Conchospore method, the Porphyra type of
reflight indicated two types of biological responses, mariculture
the recoverable phenotype responses and the herit- This is especially applicable for the cultivation of
able genotype responses (Hu et al., 1996; Hu & Liu, purple laver, Porphyra spp. The leafy Porphyra is
1997c). Their study of a strain of the microalga Ana- the object of cultivation. Carpospores from Porphyra
baena carried in the retrievable canister for 15 days are planted on mollusc shells in late Spring. The car-
showed that the growth rate of the alga was slower pospores will penetrate into the shell and develop the
than that of the ground control (Hu et al., 1997). In filamentous sporophyte stage – the conchocelis stage.
another experiment, nine species of algae were flown This will eventually give rise to conchospores which
in space for eight or fifteen days, then retrieved and upon germination will grow to become the leafy Por-
analyzed in the laboratory (Hu & Liu, 1997b). The phyra (Tseng & Chang, 1955; Tseng, 1981). The
results indicated that the algae have a strong adapta- filamentous thalli of Bangia fusco-purpurea (Dillw.)
bility to space environment. Cytological observation Lyngb. are also cultivated by this method.
on Anabaena siamensis Antarikanonda after space
flight showed obvious difference between the space
flight and the ground control samples (Chen et al.,
16

Vegetative multiplication method, the Betaphycus logy. Spirulina is well known for its protein contents,
type of mariculture 60–70% of the plants in dry weight (Wu et al., 1993).
This is applicable to quite a few species of seaweeds There are about 50 Spirulina culture groups in China,
beside Betaphycus, such as Gracilaria, Kappaphy- mostly freshwater, producing altogether less than 1000
cus and Hizikia (= Sargassum fusiforme (Harv.) tons of Spirulina powder per year.
Setch.). Carpospores of Gracilaria lemaneiformis
(Bory) Daws. upon germination will give rise to a Marine algal industry
callous like structure which will have to take about At present China has an alginate industry composed of
half a year to grow up to become young sporelings and a few factories and employing Laminaria japonica as
another half year to grow to become an adult plant. For the principal raw material. The alginate was used as
practical purposes, the growth rate is too slow. In the a substitute for starch grains in sizing cotton fibers in
vegetative multiplication method, cuttings of Gracil- Qingdao and a small factory was built for the produc-
aria are planted on raft during the best season for their tion of sodium alginate. It is now popularly employed
growth and they grow to 100–200 times their original in textile industry and produced about 8000–10 000
thallus in weight in one season. In the case of Gelidium tons of the alginate annually. The industry was ini-
and Hizikia, very young plants are employed. tiated in the early fifties employing wild Sargassum
confusum Ag. as the raw material (Tseng & Ji, 1962).
Fertilizer application and Laminaria transplantation In a few years resources of the raw material were
to the south practically depleted. So the industry had to turn to
In the cultivation of Laminaria, a method of applying the cultivated Laminaria, which is more expensive but
fertilizer in the open sea was devised (Tseng et al., dependable as a raw material.
1955b). Southward transplantation of Laminaria to China has a small agar industry dating back to the
Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces of the East China Sea, thirties. There has been a small agar factory in Qing-
which is subtropical in nature has been conducted with dao employing Gelidium amansii (Lamx.) Lamx. as
success (Tseng, 1958). With the help of the summer the raw material. There are now a few small facto-
sporeling method, the height of the hot summer tem- ries in Fujian Province employing over-mature thalli
perature and the duration of hot summer are not of of Porphyra haitanensis as raw materials and a few
major concerns. Rather, it is the length of the winter small factories in Guangdong and Hainan Provinces
and spring seasons that is important, i.e. whether the employing Gracilaria tenuistipetata var. liui Zhang et
seasons are long enough to effect growth of the plant Xia as raw material. Total annual production of agar at
to market size. By this way, the cold temperate Lamin- present is only a few hundred tons.
aria japonica is now maricultured in warm temperate China has also a small carrageenan industry with
and subtropical regions such as Zhejiang and Fujian a small factory in Hainan. For many years this factory
(Tseng, 1981). employed locally produced Betaphycus gelatinum (Es-
per) Doty as the raw material and produced a product
Current algal cultivation industry called ‘agar’ in the market. It is actually a carrageenan
At present two species each of Porphyra and Gracil- instead of an agar. The annual production is also a few
aria, and one species each of the following: Bangia, hundred tons.
Gelidium, Kappaphycus, Betaphycus, Laminaria, Un-
daria and Hizikia (= Sargassum fusiforme) are under
cultivation by the above methods of mariculture. The future of Chinese phycology
There is also a small microalgae cultivation in-
dustry, a Dunaliella and a Spirulina mariculture in- Taxonomy and floristic study
dustry. The Dunaliella culture group is located in
Tanggu, Tianjin, a part of the Salt Research Insti- Chinese phycology has started rather late in the 1930s.
tute, which received funding from the United Nation Compilation of Chinese algal floras, although planned
Development Programme (UNDP). This produces β- in the early seventies, did not get the actual pub-
carotene present in the cells in as much as 6% of the lication started until the eighties. The first volume,
dry weight (Guo, 1991). The Spirulina culture group Tomus 1 of Floras Algarum Sinicarum Aqua Dul-
is located in Sanya, Hainan Province in south China. cis, Zygnemataceae is by Dr Chin-Chih Jao. At
It belongs to the South China Sea Institute of Oceano- present, six volumes have been published in this
 17

series. In the Flora Algarum Marinarum Sinicarum secondary metabolites. Studies on molecular genetic
two volumes have been published. Four volumes labeling techniques and genetic engineering should be
of these two series have just finished compilation made (see Qin et al., 2004).
and are in the process of being edited. Fourteen
more volumes in these two series of algal floras Comparative photosynthesis and evolution
will be compiled in the next few years. Prep-
aration for the other algal groups, mostly microscopic Photosynthetic pigments of the algae are much more
and uncommon species, will follow. Studies on soil complicated than those of the seed plants, espe-
algae, desert algae, snow algae and hot spring algae cially the phycoerythrin and phycocyanin, which are
should be encouraged. not found in the seed plants. Comparative photo-
synthesis of the algae with different photosynthetic
Ecological study pigments will show many things, especially the course
of evolution. It is therefore suggested that studies on
Phytoplankton in terms of nannoplankton and the comparative photosynthesis should be continued.
smaller picoplankton have received careful studies for
the last forty something years. A few years ago, Dr Cultivation of algae
Jiao Nian-Zhi found the picoplankton Prochlorella
in the Pacific. This picoplankton was found in great It may be said that modern seaweed cultivation has
quantity below 100 m of sea water. Recently it was started in China in the early fifties when raft cultiva-
also found in the South China Sea. We are actually tion and the summer sporeling method of Laminaria
unaware taxonomically just how many genera and spe- japonica cultivation were initiated, making the Lam-
cies of Prochlorophyte there are. The only way to find inaria cultivation an important successful industry. In
out is to keep on investigating. But it will involve a some years, just the Laminaria industry alone reached
lot of expenses for ship times and instrumentations. an annual production of over three millions tons, fresh
Survey of deep lakes should also be taken. I believe weight. The method currently employed is basically
we shall find similar picoplankton. Since the seventies, that of the fifties with some small changes. For in-
algal ecological study in terms of the environment has stance, in the cultivation of the summer sporelings,
become more and more important. big green houses are still in use, and the zoospores
China’s marine environment has been troubled are collected by numerous Laminaria fronds of one
more and more with red tides and ways and means to or several strains dumped together. We firmly believe
predict and prevent the occurrence of red tides are be- that biotchnology should be applied to the cultivation
coming more and more important. We must protect our of Laminaria sporelings and changes of the method be
seas from pollution. In the fifties when we promoted applied.
cultivation of seaweeds, we had to fertilize our seas The Porphyra cultivation, thanks to Professor Fei
because there was then a very low N and P content. But Xiu-Geng, who holds a few patents in Porphyra cultiv-
now with the advance of animal aquaculture, the N and ation method and has collected about 20 species from
P contents in seawater have risen greatly. It is there- different parts of the world and more than 100 strains
fore suggested that large perennial seaweeds should in his culture room, our Porphyra cultivation has been
be planted to help absorb these excess nutrients and modernized to some extent. We believe that applica-
large scale cultivation of seaweeds could be carried tion of modern biotechnology can further modernize
out for the same purpose to protect the environment our Porphyra cultivation method.
(Fei & Tseng, 2003). With the development of space In the present method of cultivation of Gracilaria
technique, space phycology must be emphasized. lemaneiformis, the favorable growth temperature of
12–22 ◦ C necessitates the storage of the seaweed dur-
Biotechnology study ing unfavorable season in low temperature room. Its
growth is, however, best in the southern provinces
Emphasis should be laid on molecular biotechnology
probably because of higher concentration of nutrients
of seaweeds, referring to the biotechnology on iden-
elements, although its home in China is up north in
tification, modification, production and utilization of
Qingdao. We believe that by mean of modern bio-
seaweed molecules, not only manipulating macro-
technology, we shall be able to improve our current
molecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins, but also
farming method.
dealing with low molecular weight compounds such as
18

Hizikia (=Sargassum fusiforme) is now cultivated Agardh, J. G., 1889. Species Sargassorum Australiae Descriptae et
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(Mont.) J. Ag., the famous antihelmintic Zhegucai, Chen, H. F., Y. Fu, L. R. Song & Y. D. Liu, 1997. The cyto-
is in need of cultivation. Gloiopeltis furcata Post. et logical observation of Anabaena siamensis after space-flight by
Rupr. and G. tenax (Turn.) J. Ag. are excellent silk a retrieved satellite. Chin. J. Space Science 17 (Suppl.): 102–106
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sizing materials and the first algae to e cultivated in Chien, Chungshu, 1917. Peculiar effects of barium, strontium and
China. Modern cultivation method should be applied. cerium on Spirogyra. Bot. Gaz. 63: 406–409.
So far, cultivation of freshwater algae is limited to Chin, T. G., 1937. Notes on the marine planktonic diatoms from
a few microalgae, especially Spirulina. There is a Amoy. Amoy Mar. Biol. Bull. 3: 37–86.
Chu, H. R., 1944. Some Chinese Myxophyceae from Omei, Western
demand on the market to have more ‘Facai’, Nos- Szechun. Sinensia 15: 153–156.
toc commune var. flagelliformis (Berkeley et Curtis) Chu, H. R. (ed.), 1991. Flora Algarum Sinicarum Aquae Dulcis.
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Collins, F. S., 1919. Chinese marine algae. Rhodora (Journ. New
gist will see to it that Facai will be cultivated in the
Eng. Bot. Club) 21: 203–207.
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Algal industry Cowdry, N. H., 1922. Algae in plants of Peitaiho. Journ. N. China
Branch, Roy. Asia Soc. 53: 180–181.
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l’expedition-francaise de 1860-1862. Actes de la Soc. Linn. De
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quality is, however, inferior to that of the American Fang, T. C. & B. Y. Jiang, 1962. Heredity of the natural popula-
product and some improvement is needed. Our agar tion of Laminaria japonica and its utilization in the future. J.
industry is in need of good raw materials. Recently, Shandong Coll. Oceanol. 1: 1–5 (in Chinese).
Fang, T. C., Y. L. Ou, J. X. Dai, M. L. Wang, Q. S. Liu & Q.
Gracilaria lemaneiformis, which gives a good agar, M. Yang, 1983. Breeding of the new variety ‘Danhai No. 1’ of
has been subjected to cultivation. We expect to have a Laminaria japonica by using a female haploid clone of the kelp.
good agar industry. Our carrageenan industry depends J. Shandong Coll. Oceanol. 13: 63–70 (in Chinese with English
on Betaphycus gelatinum which produces a product abstract).
Fang, T. C. & J. X. Dai, 1984. 1959-1984, Genetic studies in multi-
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carrageenan. We just began to cultivate Kappaphycus Chinese with English abstract).
alvarezii (Doty) Doty ex Silva and the production of Fang, T. C., Y. L. Ou & J. J. Cui, 1985. Breeding of hybrid ‘Danza
Kappa-carrageenan will be expected. No. 10’ – an application of the Laminarian haploid cell clone.
J. Shandong Coll. Oceanol. 15: 64–72 (In Chinese with English
PSS and FPS are the two medicines now made abstract).
from extract of Laminaria japonica. We believe there Fei, X. G. & C. K. Tseng, 2003. Large scale seaweed cultivation for
are many more bioactive substances in this group of nutrient removal – A possible solution to the problem of coastal
eutrophication. In: Lee, C. S. (ed.), Proceedings of the AIP Status
lower plants, especially the microalgae. A few health
of Aquaculture in China Seminar Series. The Oceanic Institute,
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