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Cyanobacteria use photosynthetic pigments such as various forms of chlorophyll, carotenoids, phycobilins to convert the photonic energy in sunlight to chemical energy. Unlike heterotrophic prokaryotes, cyanobacteria have internal membranes. These are flattened sacs called thylakoids where photosynthesis is performed.
Cyanobacteria is the only prokaryotic group that performs oxygenic photosynthesis. Anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria use PSI- and PSII-like photosystems, which are pigment protein complexes for capturing light. [5] Both of these photosystems use bacteriochlorophyll. There are multiple hypotheses for how oxygenic photosynthesis evolved.
Prochlorococcus is a genus of very small (0.6 μm) marine cyanobacteria with an unusual pigmentation (chlorophyll a2 and b2).These bacteria belong to the photosynthetic picoplankton and are probably the most abundant photosynthetic organism on Earth.
Most cyanobacteria-host symbioses are found in oligotrophic areas where limited nutrient availability may limit the ability of the hosts to acquire carbon , in the case of heterotrophs and nitrogen in the case of phytoplankton, although a few occur in nutrient-rich areas such as mudflats.
Cyanobacterial cell division and cell growth mutant phenotypes in Synechocystis, Synechococcus, and Anabaena.Stars indicate gene essentiality in the respective organism. While one gene can be essential in one cyanobacterial organism/morphotype, it does not necessarily mean it is essential in all other cyanobacteria.
Cyanobacteria turn energy from the sun into chemical energy through oxygenic photosynthesis. Their light-harvesting complex that captures the photons usually includes the pigments chlorophyll a and phycocyanin. A cyanobacterium's typical blue-green color is a result of the combination of these two pigments.
Photoheterotrophs generate ATP using light, in one of two ways: [6] [7] they use a bacteriochlorophyll-based reaction center, or they use a bacteriorhodopsin.The chlorophyll-based mechanism is similar to that used in photosynthesis, where light excites the molecules in a reaction center and causes a flow of electrons through an electron transport chain (ETS).
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that have existed on Earth for an estimated 2.7 billion years. The ability of cyanobacteria to produce oxygen initiated the transition from a planet consisting of high levels of carbon dioxide and little oxygen, to what has been called the Great Oxygenation Event where large amounts of oxygen gas were produced. [4]