Molecular investigation of carrageenan production in Kappaphycus alvarezii in different culture conditions: a proteomic approach

Carrageenan is a polysaccharide extracted from different species of red seaweed for use in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries. In Malaysia, κ-carrageenan is obtained through extraction from the tropical red seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii . The use of tissue culture techniques in the propagation of K. alvarezii has proven to be effective in solving cultivation problems and produced high-quality seedlings and providing a sustainable source of better quality carrageenan. In order to understand the molecular mechanisms behind that, a proteomic investigation was conducted comparing the changes in protein expression in tissue-cultured and liquid-cultured K. alvarezii after 60 days of cultivation . Proteomic analysis was used to study the changes in the protein expression level between liquid-cultured and tissue-cultured of the red seaweed K. alvarezii . A total of 45 protein spots were found to be significantly different in their densities and three proteins, namely β-amylase, NAD-dependent sugar epimerase and B-phycoerythrin, showed a consistent pattern of upregulation in ELISA analyses, hence validating the 2-DE profiles. Changes in the proteins expression level were noticed in proteins related to energy production, metabolism and cellular maintenance. The protein changes in tissue-cultured seaweed possibly play an essential role in the production of carrageenan.