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The name "cyanobacteria" (from Ancient Greek κύανος (kúanos) ' blue ') refers to their bluish green color, [8] [9] which forms the basis of cyanobacteria's informal common name, blue-green algae, [10] [11] [12] although as prokaryotes they are not scientifically classified as algae.
Morphogenesis is the biological process that causes an organism to develop its shape. Cyanobacteria show a high degree of morphological diversity and can undergo a variety of cellular differentiation processes in order to adapt to certain environmental conditions.
Marine cyanobacteria are to date the smallest known photosynthetic organisms; Prochlorococcus is the smallest at just 0.5 to 0.7 micrometres in diameter. [11] [2] The coccoid shaped cells are non-motile and free-living. Their small size and large surface-area-to-volume ratio, gives them an advantage in nutrient-poor water.
Diagram showing bacteria growing and forming into a biofilm on a surface. Colonisation or colonization is the spread and development of an organism in a new area or habitat. . Colonization comprises the physical arrival of a species in a new area, but also its successful establishment within the local communi
In both light and dark conditions, the cyanobacteria form clumps that then expand outwards, with individual members remaining connected to the colony via long tendrils. In harsh environments where mechanical forces may tear apart the microbial mats, these substructures may provide evolutionary benefit to the colony, affording it at least some ...
The cyanobacteria colonies contain two types of cells, the regular cells with chlorophyll carrying out the photosynthesis, and heterocysts which fix the nitrogen. These heterocysts have thick walls and lack chlorophyll, both of which limits their exposure to oxygen, the presence of which inhibits nitrogen fixation.
The development of specialised databases for cyanobacterial taxonomy has simultaneously enhanced the ability to classify and understand these organisms within their evolutionary context. [ 3 ] While early cyanolichen research focused heavily on old-growth forests , important ecological relationships in younger forest stands began to be ...
This group of viruses includes the original cyanophage isolate that infected "blue-green algae". [ 13 ] [ 3 ] Cyanophages in this group are easy to isolate from the environment. [ 3 ] They carry short non-contractile tails and cause lysis of several species within three genera of cyanobacteria: Lyngbya , Plectonema and Phormidium . [ 3 ]