Created 17/03/2016 Updated 25/02/2017

Saccharina (sporophyte) develops a large parenchymatous thallus: which mechanisms control its growth ?

Kelp are large brown algae. We chose Saccharina (Laminariales), which is currently cultivated in Northern seas and further exploited for its sugar, as a model to study the parenchymatous growth in brown algae.

We are currently observing the development of the blade in a dynamic way using time-lapse microscopy. From this, mechanisms of formation of the boundaries, cortex and medulla tissue might be inferred from cell patterning along the growth.

Main team investigators: Elodie Rolland and Bénédicte Charrier