The family have been extensively investigated over the last 30 years, and various studies have yielded comprehensive information on their life history, cultivation, taxonomy, and utilization (Bellorin et al. 2002, Rueness 2005). Studies on the structure of their reproductive organs and the phylogenetic relationships among species inferred from rbcL sequence analyses have produced three clades at the genus level, namely Gracilaria, Gracilariopsis, and Hydropuntia (Gurgel and Fredericq 2004).[1][6]
In 2012, the University of São Paulo, Brazil set up the Gracilariaceae Germplasm Bank, to use molecule markers for the identification of species.[7]
^Byrne, Kellie; Zuccarello, Giuseppe C.; West, John; Liao, Ming-Long; Kraft, Gerald T. (December 2000). "Gracilaria species (Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta) from southeastern Australia, including a new species, Gracilaria perplexa sp. nov.: Morphology, molecular relationships and agar content". Phycological Research. 50 (4): 295–311. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1835.2002.tb00162.x.