Algae of commercial uses. It is a good medium on which to grow bacteria and fungi, as most microorganisms cannot digest agar. Alginic acid, or alginate, is extracted from brown algae. Its uses range from gelling agents in food, to medical dressings. Alginic acid also has been used in the field of biotechnology as a biocompatible medium for cell encapsulation and cell immobilization. Molecular cuisine is also a user of the substance for its gelling properties, by which it becomes a delivery vehicle for flavours. Between 100,000 and 170,000 wet tons of "Macrocystis" are harvested annually in New Mexico for alginate
Lichen anatomy and physiology few Basidiomycetes are lichenized, but these include agarics, such as species of "Lichenomphalia", clavarioid fungi, such as species of "Multiclavula", and corticioid fungi, such as species of "Dictyonema". The autotrophic symbionts occurring in lichens are a wide variety of simple, photosynthetic organisms commonly and traditionally known as algae. These symbionts include both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Approximately 100 species of photosynthetic partners from 40 genera and five distinct classes (prokaryotic: Cyanophyceae; eukaryotic: Trebouxiophyceae, Phaeophyceae, Chlorophyceae) have been found to associate with the lichen-forming fungi. The prokaryotes belong to the Cyanobacteria, whose representatives are often called bluegreen algae. The bluegreen algae