ABSTRACT
C. fragile is a model study system for many fields from algal physiology, endosymbiosis, and heavy metal accumulation to invasion ecology, algal genetics, and natural products. The alga also has economic value: it is cultivated for human consumption in Asia, used as invertebrate food by the mariculture industry, is a pest of natural and cultivated shellfish beds, is a source of bioactive compounds (antibiotic, anticarcinogenic, immuno-suppressive, anti-insect, and antihelminthic activity), and accumulates heavy metals, thus providing a model indicator of pollution. Because research on C. fragile has included both basic and applied aspects of diverse subject areas involving various subspecies in various localities, a review of the literature is warranted.
