Biotechnology and the red seaweed polysaccharide industry: status, needs and prospects

Significant amounts of marine macroalgal (seaweed) polysaccharides are used in food, pharmaceuticals and other products for human consumption. Thus, the global seaweed polysaccharide industry operates in a highly regulated environment. Genetic manipulation of macroalgae to alter composition or growth characteristics may lead to products that do not fall within the current regulations: research that is readily translatable to industrial application is generally restricted to seaweed cultivation and processing and new applications of the approved polysaccharides. There is a great need, however, for research into the genome structure and metabolic pathways of commercially important marine macroalgae. This precompetitive research may not be immediately applicable to the seaweed polysaccharide industry but is critical for sustaining future commercial growth.

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