Abstract: Algal breeding by mutation refers to the method of physical and chemical factors are used to induce genetic variations and to acquire valuable mutants in the short period. Algae are the main primary producer of aquatic ecosystems,closely associated with human life and economic development,and are the basis for human to develop the “blue agriculture”. Mutation breeding has become an important means to improve the efficiency of algae breeding and obtain new species,which is widely applied in microalgae with high bioactive substance contents,biological energy microalgae,and some of the large economic algae. The mutation technologies used in algae breeding mainly include physical and chemical mutagenesis. Ultraviolet,γ-ray,heavy ion beam and ARTP are the physical mutagenesis methods,and ethyl methanesulphonate（EMS）and N-methyl-N’-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine（MNNG）are the mainly chemical mutagenesis agents. This paper introduces the mechanisms and biological effects of above mentioned mutation technologies,and summarizes the progress and prospects of mutation technology in algae breeding,aiming at promoting the development of algae mutation breeding.

Key words: algae, physics mutagenesis, chemical mutagenesis, breeding