Codium

{{Short description|Genus of algae}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Codium sp..jpg | image_caption = ''Codium spongiosum'' off the Réunion coast | taxon = Codium | authority = Stackhouse, 1797 | type_species = ''Codium tomentosum'' | type_species_authority = Stackhouse, 1797 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text }} [[File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - L.4102811 - Codium cylindricum Holmes - Chlorophyceae - Plant type specimen.jpeg|thumb|''Codium cylindricum'' Holmes, type definition herbarium specimen pressed]]

'''''Codium''''' is a genus of edible green macroalgae (or seaweed) under the order Bryopsidales. The genus name is derived from a Greek word that pertains to the soft texture of its thallus. One of the foremost experts on ''Codium'' taxonomy was Paul Claude Silva at the University of California, Berkeley.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last=Moe|first=R. |date=2019 |title=In Memoriam: Paul Claude Silva (31 October 1922–12 June 2014) |url=https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2216/14-111R1.1 |journal=Phycologia |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=89–94 |doi=10.2216/14-111R1.1 |s2cid=86361100|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Hoek, Mann and Jahns 95">{{cite book |author1=C. van den Hoek |author2=D. G. Mann |author3=M. H. Jahns |year=1995 |title=Algae: An Introduction to Phycology |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-30419-1}}</ref> Silva was able to describe 36 species for the genus, and in honor of his work on ''Codium'',<ref name=":0" /> the species ''C. silvae'' was named after him.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Womersley|first=H. B. S. |title=The marine benthic flora of southern Australia. Part I |publisher=Handbooks Committee of South Australian Government |year=1984 |isbn=0-7243-4552-3 |location=Adelaide, South Australia |page=329 |language=en}}</ref>

== Taxonomy and nomenclature == This genus is the largest member of the algal family Codiaceae and consequently under order Bryopsidales and it currently has about 143 confirmed species and four (4) unresolved members.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last1=Guiry |first1=M.D. |last2=Guiry |first2=G.M. |date=2023 |title=Codium |url=https://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=39 |access-date=13 January 2023 |website=AlgaeBase |place=National University of Ireland, Galway.}}</ref> Stackhouse, unfortunately, failed to provide holotype specimens for ''C. tomentosum'' (type species) and some of its dichotomously branching congeners leading to misidentifications; P.C. Silva delineated ''C. tomentosum'', ''C. fragile'', and ''C. vermilara'' and established neotypes for each species to finally resolve this taxonomic blunder.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Silva |first=P.C. |date=1955 |title=The dichotomous species of Codium in Britain |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0025315400008821/type/journal_article |journal=Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |language=en |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=565–577 |doi=10.1017/S0025315400008821 |s2cid=86037013 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Morphology==

Being a member of the order Bryopsidales, ''Codium'' is coenocytic and siphonous.<ref name=":2" /> Their spongy thallus is composed of a single, multinucleated, branched, tubular cell called siphon which terminates at a swollen end called the utricle.<ref name="Hoek, Mann and Jahns 95" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> These siphons intertwine with each other to form the clear mesh-like center of the ''Codium'' thallus called the medulla while the utricles surround this central layer to form a green to dark-green palisade layer called the cortex.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />

The genus has a wide variety of thalli forms: (1) mat-forming, the thalli encrusts and adheres to given a substrate using its medullary filaments; (2) spherical, the thalli forms a ball and is superficially attached to an area using rhizoidal filaments; and (4) erect thalli, typically dichotomously branched with its medulla surrounded by utricles.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Verbruggen |first1=Heroen |last2=Leliaert |first2=Frederik |last3=Maggs |first3=Christine A. |last4=Shimada |first4=Satoshi |last5=Schils |first5=Tom |last6=Provan |first6=Jim |last7=Booth |first7=David |last8=Murphy |first8=Sue |last9=De Clerck |first9=Olivier |last10=Littler |first10=Diane S. |last11=Littler |first11=Mark M. |last12=Coppejans |first12=Eric |date=July 2007 |title=Species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships within the green algal genus Codium (Bryopsidales) based on plastid DNA sequences |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790307000115 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=240–254 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2007.01.009|pmid=17346993 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In addition to its thalli variations, the utricles which forms its thallus also has variety of forms, mainly based on their apical wall thickness and apex shapes.<ref name=":4" />

Similar to most seaweed species, ''Codium'' species also exhibit a wide range of morphological plasticity which has been a great challenge to its morphology-based taxonomy.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=H.W. |last2=Kim |first2=M.S. |date=2015 |title=Species delimitation in the green algal genus Codium (Bryopsidales) from Korea using DNA barcoding |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13131-015-0651-6 |journal=Acta Oceanologica Sinica |language=en |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=114–124 |doi=10.1007/s13131-015-0651-6 |s2cid=83909900 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=González |first1=A.V. |last2=Chacana |first2=M.E. |last3=Silva |first3=P.C. |date=2012 |title=Codium bernabei sp. nov. (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta), a coalescing green seaweed from the coast of Chile |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2216/12-025.1 |journal=Phycologia |language=en |volume=51 |issue=6 |pages=666–671 |doi=10.2216/12-025.1 |s2cid=84445524 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Distribution== In terms of its natural range, ''Codium'' has a latitudinal range that encompasses the tropical to temperate areas, however, this genus is not found in the frigid polar regions of the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=De Oliveira-Carvalho |first1=M.D.F. |last2=Oliveira |first2=M.C. |last3=Pereira |first3=S.M.B. |last4=Verbruggen |first4=H. |date=2012 |title=Phylogenetic analysis of Codium species from Brazil, with the description of the new species C. pernambucensis (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09670262.2012.718363 |journal=European Journal of Phycology |language=en |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=355–365 |doi=10.1080/09670262.2012.718363 |s2cid=51823495 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":4" />

===Ireland=== Two of these species are very rare in Ireland. ''Codium adhaerens'' has been recorded from a few sites on the west coast and from Tory Island on the north coast in County Donegal. In 1837 it was found in Church Bay in County Antrim,<ref>Morton,O. 1994. ''Marine Algae of Northern Ireland.'' Ulster Museum. {{ISBN|0 900761 28 8}}</ref> but has not been found there since.

* ''Codium adhaerens'' C.Agardh * ''Codium bursa'' (Linnaeus) C.Agardh - has been found in Mulroy Bay in County Donegal in 1977 (specimen in the Ulster Museum) and 1988. There is an old record of it from "near Belfast" between 1793 and 1810. * ''Codium fragile'' (Suringar) Hariot ** ''Codium fragile'' subsp. ''atlanticum'' (A. Cotton) Silva * ''Codium tomentosum'' Stackhouse * ''Codium vermilara'' (Olivi) Delle Chiaje

There are other species of "doubtful validity":- ''Codium amphibium'' is included in William Henry Harvey's ''Phycologia Britannica'' Pl.xxxv. and noted as: "spreading in patches of great extent along the edge of the sea, over the surface of a turf-bog which meets the shore at Roundstone Bay" (Ireland).

===Worldwide=== * ''Codium arabicum'' Kütz. - Australia * ''Codium arenicola'' Chacana & P.C.Silva - Australia * ''Codium australasicum'' P.C.Silva - Australia * ''Codium bernabei'' A.V.González, M.E.Chacana & P.C.Silva - Chile * ''Codium bulbopilum'' Setch. - Australia * ''Codium bursa'' C.Agardh. - North Atlantic and Mediterranean * ''Codium capitulatum'' P.C.Silva & Womersley - Australia * ''Codium convolutum'' (Dellow) P.C.Silva - New Zealand * ''Codium cranwelliae'' Setch. - New Zealand * ''Codium cuneatum'' S. & G. - California (United States) * ''Codium decorticatum'' - Global<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Meinita |first1=Maria Dyah Nur |last2=Harwanto |first2=Dicky |last3=Choi |first3=Jae-Suk |date=December 2022 |title=A concise review of the bioactivity and pharmacological properties of the genus Codium (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) |journal=Journal of Applied Phycology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=2827–2845 |doi=10.1007/s10811-022-02842-8 |issn=0921-8971 |pmc=9559154 |pmid=36259048}}</ref> * ''Codium duthiae'' Silva - Australia, Tasmania, and South Africa * ''Codium dwarkense'' Børgesen - Australia * ''Codium edule -'' Indo-Pacific, including Hawaii * ''Codium extricatum'' Silva - Cape Agulhas to southern KwaZulu-Natal * ''Codium fragile'' (Suringar) Hariot - Nova Scotia (Canada) ** ''Codium fragile'' Sui song - (Chinese)<ref name=Abbott>{{cite book|last=Abbott|first=Isabella A.|author-link=Isabella Abbott|editor1-last=Lembi|editor1-first=Carole A.|editor2-last=Waaland|editor2-first=J. Robert|title=Algae and human affairs|year=1989|pages=141|publisher=Cambridge University Press, Phycological Society of America|isbn=978-0-521-32115-0}} Food and food products from seaweeds</ref> Japan, American Pacific from Alaska to Cape Horn, Australia and New Zealand, British Isles, Norway, Denmark, and Netherlands ** ''Codium fragile'' subsp. ''capense'' Silva - South Africa * ''Codium galeatum'' J.Agardh - Australia * ''Codium geppiorum'' O.C.Schmidt - Australia and Indo-Pacific South Africa * ''Codium harveyi'' P.C.Silva - Australia * ''Codium hubbsii'' Daws. - California (U.S.A.) * ''Codium intertextum'' Collins & Hervey * ''Codium isthmocladum'' Vickers * ''Codium johnstonei'' Silva - California (U.S.A.) * ''Codium laminarioides'' Harv. - Australia * ''Codium lucasii'' Setchell - Australia, Tasmania * ''Codium mamillosum'' Harv. - Australia * ''Codium muelleri'' Kütz. - Australia * ''Codium perriniae'' A.H.S.Lucas - Australia * ''Codium pomoides'' J.Agardh - Australia * ''Codium ritteri'' - Northern Pacific (Alaska, British Columbia, Kamchatka) * ''Codium setchellii'' Gardn. - California (U.S.A.) * ''Codium silvae'' Womersley - Australia * ''Codium spinescens'' P.C.Silva & Womersley - Australia * ''Codium spinulosum'' Y. Lee - Korea * ''Codium spongiosum'' Harv. - Australia * ''Codium strangulatum'' Chacana & P.C.Silva - Australia * ''Codium taylorii'' Silva - Australia * ''Codium repens'' (P.Crouan & H.Crouan) Vickers * ''Codium tenue'' (Kütz.) Kütz. - Australia * ''Codium tomentosum'' Stackh. - Australia

=== Invasion of ''Codium'' spp. === Even though ''Codium'' species are well-distributed across the globe, certain species have managed to escape their natural range and invade other areas. In the case of ''C. fragile'' spp. ''tomentosoides'', commonly known as "oyster thief", the increasing marine traffic has made it possible for it to escape its natural locality (Japan) and spread to Europe and USA forcing devastating biodiversity and aquacultural losses.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Petrocelli |first1=A. |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110438666-016/html |title=11. Invasive Seaweeds: Impacts and Management Actions |last2=Cecere |first2=E. |date=2016-01-15 |publisher=De Gruyter Open Poland |isbn=978-3-11-043866-6 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110438666-016}}</ref>

== Ecology == ''Codium'' has been observed to inhabit both from the intertidal zone down to the subtidal area.<ref name=":2" />

== Life history == ''Codium'', like most ulvophycean seaweeds, exhibit a diplontic life history wherein the dominant diploid (2N) thallus produces the male and female gametangia that will produce the haploid (N) gametes through meiosis.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-94-017-7321-8 |title=The Algae World |date=2015 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-94-017-7320-1 |editor-last=Sahoo |editor-first=Dinabandhu |series=Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology |volume=26 |location=Dordrecht |doi=10.1007/978-94-017-7321-8 |s2cid=8016645 |editor-last2=Seckbach |editor-first2=Joseph}}</ref> Moreover, ''Codium'' are also capable of fragmentation, which has led to its unwanted spread across the globe.

== Exploitation, harvesting and cultivation == South Korea is the leading consumer and producer of farmed ''Codium'' (commonly known as ''cheonggak'') in the world; with about 4000 metric tons of fresh weight produced in 2017 and valued at 2 million US dollars.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Hwang |first1=E.K. |last2=Park |first2=C.S. |date=2020 |title=Seaweed cultivation and utilization of Korea |journal=Algae |language=en |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=107–121 |doi=10.4490/algae.2020.35.5.15 |s2cid=225689208 |issn=1226-2617|doi-access=free }}</ref> Farming and cultivation of ''Codium'' in South Korea is a thriving industry; their method first involves seeding a rope line with isolated pieces of utricles and medullary filaments<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hwang |first1=Eun-Kyoung |last2=Baek |first2=Jae-Min |last3=Park |first3=Chan-Sun |date=2005 |title=Artificial Seed Production Using the Reproduction Methods in Codium fragile (Chlorophyta) |url=http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO200504704033597.page |journal=Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=164–171 |doi=10.5657/kfas.2005.38.3.164 |issn=0374-8111|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and finally transferring it into the open sea for the grow-out cultivation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hwang |first1=E.K. |last2=Baek |first2=J.M. |last3=Park |first3=C.S. |date=2008 |title=Cultivation of the green alga, Codium fragile (Suringar) Hariot, by artificial seed production in Korea |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10811-007-9265-5 |journal=Journal of Applied Phycology |language=en |volume=20 |issue=5 |pages=469–475 |doi=10.1007/s10811-007-9265-5 |s2cid=22367953 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Chemical composition/Natural products chemistry == A recent review on the bioactivity of the genus ''Codium'' has revealed that most of its polysaccharides, glycoproteins, galactans, anionic macromolecules, and other extracts/compounds have shown to have a variety of uses as immunostimulatory, anticoagulant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral agent.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Meinita |first1=M.D.N. |last2=Harwanto |first2=D. |last3=Choi |first3=J.S. |date=2022 |title=A concise review of the bioactivity and pharmacological properties of the genus Codium (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) |journal=Journal of Applied Phycology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=2827–2845 |doi=10.1007/s10811-022-02842-8 |issn= |pmc=9559154 |pmid=36259048}}</ref>

== Utilization and Management == ''Codium'' is used either fresh or dry and is typically cooked and seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar or mixed with kimchi.<ref name=":5" />

==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}

Category:Codium Category:Ulvophyceae genera Category:Marine biota of Africa Category:Marine biota of Europe Category:Marine biota of North America Category:Taxa named by John Stackhouse