Ulva australis

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Ulva australis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
(unranked): Viridiplantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Ulvophyceae
Order: Ulvales
Family: Ulvaceae
Genus: Ulva
Species:
U. australis
Binomial name
Ulva australis
Areschoug, 1854
A sample of Ulva australis. Ulva australis Aresch. (AM AK297384-1).jpg
A sample of Ulva australis.

Ulva australis, the southern sea lettuce, is a species of bright green coloured seaweed in the family Ulvaceae that can be found in waters around Australia and was first described by Swedish botanist Johan Erhard Areschoug. It is an edible green algae, although sometimes designated as a seaweed. [1] General characteristics of Ulva australis include a smooth surface, distromatic blades, lobed fronds, and thallus color from dark green to light grass green. It can be either free floating or attached by a single holdfast. Its cells appear to be irregularly arranged, have rounded edges, and have shapes such as rectilinear, square, and pentagonal. [2]

Contents

It has been researched for a number of scientific properties in distinct fields such as environmental protection, medicine, and pharmacology. [3] [4] [5] [6] Ulva rigida has sometimes been confused with this species. [7]

Origin

The taxa of Ulva macro-algae are distributed worldwide, and because they have so few characters that are often different among the taxa members, they are known to be difficult to classify. Many Ulva members found near the Australia has been equated with species elsewhere in the world, and Ulva australis, first described from the samples Arechoug collected in Southern Australia, is one of them. [2]

Once considered to be a temperate species, Ulva pertusa is one of the most common green algae in Japan that lives in the intertidal coast, and it is native to northeastern Asia. Upon studying the DNA fragments extracted from collected specimens, Ulva pertusa has almost identical DNA sequences, with very small sequence divergence when comparing with the reported genetic data from Australia. The researchers tested the hypothesis that U. australis is an independent species, but, the hypothesis was rejected due to U. australis' natural habitat along the shoreline being suppressed by the U. pertusa populations. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Ulva australis is a species introduced to Australia that originated in Japan. However, the researchers hypothesize that the U. australis was not directly introduced from Japan to Australia, but rather from non-indigenous populations elsewhere in northeastern Asia. [8]

Factors Affecting Growth

Researchers used a factorial experimental design to test the three factors that has influence on the growth of Ulva australis with two levels of each factor: Carbon dioxide (380 and 750 ppm), nutrient (control and PES medium), and irradiance (50 and 100 μmol photons m−2 s−1). It was experimentally shown that the growth and photosynthesis of Ulva australis increases when the levels of carbon dioxide and nutrient are higher, i.e. 750 ppm and PES medium in the experiment. However, the optimal level for irradiance for their growth and photosynthesis differed among the three lives stages. The germlings favored higher level of irradiance, whereas the preferred lower level of irradiance. [9]

Application in Environmental Protection

Ulva australis has the ability to participate in environmental protection. Human activities has released metals into the sea, and when these metals exceed the standard, they will cause metal pollution. Measuring and removing these pollutants has always been a problem. When Ulva australis are in the sea area with serious metal pollution, the metal ions in their cell walls and vacuoles will increase, which indicates that they can absorb metals in the ocean. In addition, the research results also show that compared with other metals, they have stronger absorption capacity for zinc. The results indicate that the metal pollution of a given area could be known by transplanting Ulva australis into the polluted area and measuring the metal ion content in its cell wall and vacuole. Moreover, Ulva australis can also be used as biological tools to remove metal pollution. The metal absorption capacity of Ulva australis has an upper limit, and excessive metal pollution will damage their thallus, thus it is necessary to replace Ulva australis regularly during use. [10]

Application in Biotechnology

Ulva australis, as an edible seaweed, is very rich in minerals, vitamins, and noncaloric dietary fiber, [11] and has many uses in medical and biotechnological fields. The decoction of U. australis can be used to treat several illness such as hyperlipidemia, sunstroke, and urinary diseases. [12] Several biological activities such as anti-hyperlipidemic, [13] antioxidant, [14] antiviral, [15] immunomodulatory, [16] and anti-radiation activities [17] were all observed from the algal sulfated polysaccharides they have. [18] The organic extracts of Ulva australis also show different many other biological activities, such as radical scavenging activity (RSA) and metal chelating activity. Moreover, Ulva australis also shows inhibitory effects on the pathogenic factors of Alzheimer's disease, hyperpigmentation, Type-2 diabetes mellitus and skin sagging. This shows that Ulva australis as a common food source can be used to treat, prevent or alleviate a variety of diseases. [19]

Application in abalone breeding

Research shows that Ulva australis can play a great role in abalone aquaculture: improve the survival rate of abalone, and reduce the cost of abalone farming. Abalone is widely known as an expensive seafood with large demand. However, the utilization rate of Undaria pinnatifida as its feed is not high in winter and it will lead to unbalanced nutrition, which not only reduces the survival rate of abalone, but also increases the cost of aquaculture. Therefore, some researchers use Ulva australis instead of Undaria pinnatifida as abalone feed to experiment, to observe whether Ulva australis can be used as an effective abalone feed. The results showed that when 60% Ulva australis and 40% Undaria pinnatifida were used to feed abalone, the survival rate and abundance of abalone reached the maximum. Moreover, even if abalone is completely fed with Ulva australis instead of Undaria pinnatifida, abalone will not be negatively affected. [20] [21]

Problems caused by Ulva australis and possible solutions

Green tide, a phenomenon of excessive green algae in a certain area, is mainly caused by Ulva spp. [22] In Jeju Island and its coastal areas of South Korea, Ulva australis, a specie of Ulva spp., has caused serious ecological and marine pollution. Therefore, it is imminent to resolve the issue. Some researchers have carried out experiments with different control measures and found that the reproductive capacity of Ulva australis in low salinity water is inhibited. Moreover, lower pH value and temperature higher than 30 °C will also cause serious damage to Ulva australis. In addition, the researchers also pointed out that oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide and sodium percarbonate can cause the rapid death of Ulva australis, thus these chemicals can be used to control the green tide caused by Ulva australis. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariculture</span> Cultivation of marine organisms in the open ocean

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green algae</span> Paraphyletic group of autotrophic eukaryotes in the clade Archaeplastida

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<i>Caulerpa</i> Genus of seaweeds

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<i>Ulva lactuca</i> Species of chlorophyte green alga

Ulva lactuca, also known by the common name sea lettuce, is an edible green alga in the family Ulvaceae. It is the type species of the genus Ulva. A synonym is U. fenestrata, referring to its "windowed" or "holed" appearance.

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References

  1. ↑ Page 12 - Southern sea lettuceMorrison, Sue; Storrie, Ann; Western Australia. Department of Environment and Conservation; Morrison, Sue; Storrie, Ann (1999), Wonders of western waters: the marine life of south-western Australia, Dept. of Environment and Conservation (published 2010), ISBN   978-0-7309-6894-8
  2. 1 2 Kraft, Lesleigh G. K.; Kraft, Gerald T.; Waller, Ross F. (2010). "Investigations into Southern Australian Ulva (ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta) Taxonomy and Molecular Phylogeny Indicate Both Cosmopolitanism and Endemic Cryptic Species1". Journal of Phycology. 46 (6): 1257–1277. doi:10.1111/j.1529-8817.2010.00909.x. ISSN   1529-8817. S2CID   86144378.
  3. ↑ Farias, DR; Hurd, CL; Eriksen, RS; Simioni, C; Schmidt, E; Bouzon, ZL; MacLeod, CK (2017), In situ assessment of Ulva australis as a monitoring and management tool for metal pollution, Kluwer Academic Publ, retrieved 19 December 2019
  4. ↑ Farias, DR; Schmidt, E; Simioni, C; Bouzon, ZL; Hurd, CL; Eriksen, RS; Macleod, CK (2017), "Photosynthetic and ultrastructural responses of Ulva australis to Zn stress", Micron (Oxford, England: 1993), Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, 103: 45–52, doi:10.1016/j.micron.2017.09.010, PMID   28968548 , retrieved 19 December 2019
  5. ↑ Reidenbach, LB; Fernandez, P; Leal, PP; Noisette, F; McGraw, CM; Revill, AT; Hurd, CL; Kubler, JE (2017), "Growth, ammonium metabolism, and photosynthetic properties of Ulva australis (Chlorophyta) under decreasing pH and ammonium enrichment", PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, 12 (11): e0188389, Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1288389R, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188389 , PMC   5703455 , PMID   29176815 , retrieved 19 December 2019
  6. ↑ Sutrisno, Melani, Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, UNSW (2012), Antibiotic production and resistance in the microbial community of Ulva australis, University of New South Wales. Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences, retrieved 19 December 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "Florabase—the Western Australian Flora".
  8. ↑ Hanyuda, Takeaki; Kawai, Hiroshi (2018). "Genetic examination of the type specimen of Ulva australis suggests that it was introduced to Australia". Phycological Research. 66 (3): 238–241. doi:10.1111/pre.12222. ISSN   1440-1835. S2CID   51995970.
  9. ↑ Jeon, Da Vine; Na, Y. J.; Yu, O.; Choi, H. (2015). "Effects of varying CO 2, Nutrient and Light Irradiance Levels on the Growth of Ulva australis at Germling, Juvenile, and Adult Stages". Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 48: 96–103. doi: 10.5657/KFAS.2015.0096 . S2CID   55126730.
  10. ↑ Farias, D. R.; Hurd, C. L.; Eriksen, R. S.; Simioni, C.; Schmidt, E.; Bouzon, Z. L.; Macleod, C. K. (2017-02-10). "In situ assessment of Ulva australis as a monitoring and management tool for metal pollution". Journal of Applied Phycology. 29 (5): 2489–2502. doi:10.1007/s10811-017-1073-y. ISSN   0921-8971. S2CID   23697989.
  11. ↑ Lahaye, Marc; Jegou, Dominique (1993). "Chemical and physical-chemical characteristics of dietary fibres from Ulva lactuca (L.) Thuret and Enteromorpha compressa (L.) Grev". Journal of Applied Phycology. 5 (2): 195–200. doi:10.1007/bf00004017. ISSN   0921-8971. S2CID   44607640.
  12. ↑ Chengkui, Zeng; Tseng, C. K.; Junfu, Zhang; Chang, C. F. (1984). "Chinese seaweeds in herbal medicine". Hydrobiologia. 116–117 (1): 152–154. doi:10.1007/bf00027655. ISSN   0018-8158. S2CID   29953242.
  13. ↑ Qi, Huimin; Huang, Liye; Liu, Xiaolei; Liu, Dongmei; Zhang, Quanbin; Liu, Shunmei (2012). "Antihyperlipidemic activity of high sulfate content derivative of polysaccharide extracted from Ulva pertusa (Chlorophyta)". Carbohydrate Polymers. 87 (2): 1637–1640. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2011.09.073. ISSN   0144-8617.
  14. ↑ Qi, Huimin; Zhang, Quanbin; Zhao, Tingting; Chen, Rong; Zhang, Hong; Niu, Xizhen; Li, Zhien (2005). "Antioxidant activity of different sulfate content derivatives of polysaccharide extracted from Ulva pertusa (Chlorophyta) in vitro". International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 37 (4): 195–199. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2005.10.008. ISSN   0141-8130. PMID   16310843.
  15. ↑ Song, Lin; Chen, Xiaolin; Liu, Xiaodong; Zhang, Fubo; Hu, Linfeng; Yue, Yang; Li, Kecheng; Li, Pengcheng (2015-12-29). "Characterization and Comparison of the Structural Features, Immune-Modulatory and Anti-Avian Influenza Virus Activities Conferred by Three Algal Sulfated Polysaccharides". Marine Drugs. 14 (1): 4. doi: 10.3390/md14010004 . ISSN   1660-3397. PMC   4728501 . PMID   26729137.
  16. ↑ Choi, Tae-Seob; Kim, Kwang-Young (2005-12-01). "The Effect of Substrate on Ecophysiological Characteristics of Green Macroalga Ulva pertusa Kjellman (Chlorophyta)". Algae. 20 (4): 369–377. doi: 10.4490/algae.2005.20.4.369 . ISSN   1226-2617.
  17. ↑ Shi, Jinming; Cheng, Cuilin; Zhao, Haitian; Jing, Jing; Gong, Ning; Lu, Weihong (2013). "In vivo anti-radiation activities of the Ulva pertusa polysaccharides and polysaccharide–iron(III) complex". International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 60: 341–346. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2013.06.001. ISSN   0141-8130. PMID   23751317.
  18. ↑ Li, Guo-Liang; Guo, Wei-Jie; Wang, Guang-Bao; Wang, Rong-Rong; Hou, Yu-Xue; Liu, Kun; Liu, Yang; Wang, Wei (2017-09-28). "Sterols from the Green Alga Ulva australis". Marine Drugs. 15 (10): 299. doi: 10.3390/md15100299 . ISSN   1660-3397. PMC   5666407 . PMID   28956835.
  19. ↑ Trentin, Riccardo; Custódio, Luísa; Rodrigues, Maria João; Moschin, Emanuela; Sciuto, Katia; da Silva, José Paulo; Moro, Isabella (2020). "Exploring Ulva australis Areschoug for possible biotechnological applications: In vitro antioxidant and enzymatic inhibitory properties, and fatty acids contents". Algal Research. 50: 101980. doi:10.1016/j.algal.2020.101980. ISSN   2211-9264. S2CID   225326644.
  20. 1 2 Kim, Jin-Seog; Kwak, Hwa Sook; Kim, Bo Gwan (2017-09-30). "Effects of Various Physical and Chemical Factors on the Death of Trouble Seaweed Ulva australis". Weed & Turfgrass Science. 6 (3): 222–234. doi:10.5660/wts.2017.6.3.222. ISSN   2287-7924. S2CID   89883659.
  21. ↑ Ansary, Most. Waheda Rahman; Jeong, Hae Seung; Lee, Ki Wook; Kim, Pil Youn; Kim, June; Yun, Ah-Yeong; Cho, Sung Hwoan; Kim, Tae-Ik (2018-10-25). "Dietary substitution effect of Ulva australis for Undaria pinnatifida on growth, body composition and air exposure of juvenile abalone, Haliotis discus (Reeve 1846)". Journal of Applied Phycology. 31 (2): 1467–1474. doi:10.1007/s10811-018-1654-4. ISSN   0921-8971. S2CID   53025495.
  22. ↑ Wang, Zongling; Xiao, Jie; Fan, Shiliang; Li, Yan; Liu, Xiangqing; Liu, Dongyan (2015). "Who made the world's largest green tide in China?—an integrated study on the initiation and early development of the green tide in Yellow Sea". Limnology and Oceanography. 60 (4): 1105–1117. Bibcode:2015LimOc..60.1105W. doi: 10.1002/lno.10083 . ISSN   0024-3590. JSTOR   26955714. S2CID   85896050.

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