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Cyanobacteria (/ s aɪ ˌ æ n oʊ b æ k ˈ t ɪər i. ə /), also called Cyanobacteriota or Cyanophyta, are a phylum of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria [6] that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" (from Ancient Greek κύανος (kúanos) 'blue') refers to their bluish green color, [7] [8 ...
[20] [21] The release of molecular oxygen by cyanobacteria as a by-product of photosynthesis induced global changes in the Earth's environment. Because oxygen was toxic to most life on Earth at the time, this led to the near-extinction of oxygen-intolerant organisms , a dramatic change which redirected the evolution of the major animal and ...
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.
In aquatic environments, microbes constitute the base of the food web. Single celled photosynthetic organisms such as diatoms and cyanobacteria are generally the most important primary producers in the open ocean. Many of these cells, especially cyanobacteria, are too small to be captured and consumed by small crustaceans and planktonic larvae.
Cyanobacteria are model microorganisms for the study of photosynthesis, carbon and nitrogen assimilation, evolution of plant plastids, and adaptability to environmental stresses. Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 is one of the most highly studied types of cyanobacteria as it can grow both autotrophically or heterotrophically in the absence of light.
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.
[12] [27] Cyanobacteria benefit their hosts through providing glycerol and organic phosphates through photosynthesis and supply up to half of their required energy and a majority of their carbon budget. [28] Two groups of sponges with photosynthetic symbionts have been described; these are the "cyanosponges" and "phototrophs".
Cyanobacteria, which are prokaryotic organisms which carry out oxygenic photosynthesis, occupy many environmental conditions, including fresh water, seas, soil, and lichen. Cyanobacteria carry out plant-like photosynthesis because the organelle in plants that carries out photosynthesis is derived from an [ 4 ] endosymbiotic cyanobacterium. [ 5 ]