Model Plants in Marine Biotechnology

The genus Porphyra, consisting of 133 species includes several economically valuable species (i.e. P. yezoensis, P. tenera, P. pseudolinearis etc.). They are predominantly consumed and cultivated in East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and China, and they are regarded as a big commercial market today. In addition to the industrial importance, P. yezoensis is currently regarded as a feasible candidate for a model plant in marine biotechnology, therefore there are a wide range of studies being undertaken: strain-preservation, development of mutant strains and genetic analysis and exhaustive molecular analysis including EST and macro/micro array. Focusing on the activities of our research group, current situation and future perspectives in marine biotechnological studies using P. yezoensis will be discussed in this mini review.