seed bank
A collection of gametophyte cultures or “seed”.
Lesson 1
Introduction to Gametophyte Culturing
Back to: Building a Gametophyte Seed Bank
Gametophyte culturing has been happening in the United States for many years by researchers for seed bank and breeding purposes. There are some existing resources for this including a number of scientific papers and published manuals, some of which can be found listed on the references document in the course resources. While the methods in these academic materials have provided critical knowledge transfer, the methods used are not well suited to producing gametophytes in the volumes needed by industry. A major roadblock in the production of commercial scale gametophyte collections is the lack of a simple and replicable set of protocols that have been validated in a production setting and don’t require extensive research and testing to deploy.
GreenWave has first-hand experience with the limitations of the spore seeding technique–sorus in Southern New England has been appearing later year over year, delaying seed production and timely outplanting which limits optimal light and nutrient availability and results in smaller harvests over time. In response to this challenge, in 2022 GreenWave partnered with Hortimare, a global leader in seaweed propagation, to build a complete production system optimized around a commercial scale seed bank. After a year and a half of employing Hortimare’s protocols, we were able to rear 50,000 ft of gametophyte seeded seedstring, providing high-quality early seed to all of the farmers supplied by GreenWave’s nursery. Continuing with these methods, we’ve been able to grow enough gametophytes to upscale our own production and also provide gametophytes to other nurseries for their own production.
Although the biology is similar for small- and large-scale production, the pathway to large-scale production has some caveats. Hortimare’s experience with providing commercial seed to farms throughout Europe gives them a unique understanding of these challenges. They have dedicated significant time and resources to the research and development of best practices. As their first commercial scale nursery partner, GreenWave has been able to build on their knowledge and experience to develop the material in this course. It’s our collective recommendation to follow the protocols in this course strictly and avoid deviations unless absolutely necessary. The methods and materials used in this course have been thoroughly tested and shown to be reliable, and seemingly inconsequential changes can have unpredictable effects ranging from inhibiting good fertilization to culture failure.
Happy culturing!
Definition
Industry Resource