Cyanobacteria

Earlier called blue-green algae

Modern-day cyanobacteria include some 2000

species in 150 genera and 5 orders, with a great
variety of shapes and sizes.

Ecologically, there are three major groups of

cyanobacteria in the aquatic environment.
o Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes
that capture sunlight for energy; use chlorophyll a
and various accessory pigments.
o Common in lakes, ponds, springs, wetlands,
streams, and rivers.
o Play a major role in the nitrogen, carbon, and
oxygen dynamics of many aquatic environments.
o Much of their present diversity was achieved
more than 2 billion years ago
Cyanobacteria terminology
- Division Cyanophyta
- Cyanobacteria formerly known as
Blue-Green Algae

- Cyano = blue
- Bacteria acknowledges that they
are more closely related to prokaryotic
bacteria than eukaryotic algae
 Cyanobacteria
Cells small usually < 10m,
lacking nucleus, chloroplasts or other membrane bound
organelles, often with heterocysts or akinete spores.
Blue green in colour due to a water soluble accessory
pigment (phycocyanin)
Growth form as unicells, small clusters, filaments, or large
colonies
photoautotrophs, aerobic
Molecular evidence shows them to be the ancestors of
algal chloroplasts
Prokaryotes Eukaryotes
BOTANY
 Cyanobacteria
Microscopic organisms

Found in marine sediments and pelagic zone,

freshwater lakes, soils,

Live in extreme environments chemically and

temperature.

Ecologically, there are three major groups in the

aquatic environment: mat-forming species,
bloom-formers and picocyanobacteria
 Importance

First organisms to have two photosystems

and to produce organic material and give off
O2 as a bi-product.

Very important to the evolution of the earths

oxidizing atmosphere .
 Importance
Many fix or convert atmospheric
nitrogen into usable forms through
Nitrogen Fixation when other forms are
unavailable.
As atmospheric N2 is unavailable to
most living organisms because
breaking the triple bond is difficult, the
importance of cyanobacteria.

N N
 Cyanobacteria Characteristics

- Pigments chl a, phycobiliproteins

- phycoerythrin
- phycocyanin * Blue-Green Color
- allophycocyanin
- Storage glycogen
- Cell Walls amino acids, sugars
 Forms
Unicell with mucilaginous envelope
Colonies
Filaments uniserate in a single row
- OR - multiserate not TRUE branching
when trichomes are > 1 in rows
 Features
Trichome row of cells

} Filament

Mucilaginous sheath
layer of mucilage outside of the cell wall.
 Features
Mucilaginous Sheath

Function protects cells from drying

and involved in gliding.

Sheath is often colored:

Red = acidic
Blue = basic
Yellow/Brown = high salt
 Features
Heterocyst thick walled cell, hollow
looking. Larger than vegetative cells.

FUNCTION provides the anerobic

environment for N fixation.

H- heterocyst
 Heterocyst
Vegetative cells
Anabaena
Habit success due to ability tolerate a wide
range of conditions

Marine littoral and pelagic

Fresh Water
Hot Springs
Terrestrial soil flora
 Heterocyst
Larger than vegetative cells
Hollow looking
Thick walled doesnt allow atmospheric gas
to enter.
Photosynthetically inactive
No CO2 fixation or O2 evolution
Formation of heterocysts triggered by
[molybdenum] and low [nitrogen]
 Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient necessary

for the production of amino acids =
building blocks of life.
 Nitrogen Fixation
ONLY cyanobacteria and prokaryotic bacteria
can FIX nitrogen.
Of these two only CYANOBACTERIA evolve
OXYGEN during photosynthesis
Important because nitrogenase (enzyme
involved in fixing nitrogen) is INACTIVATED
by O2.
 Mechanisms to Separate
Nitrogenase from Oxygen

Heterocyst (spatial)

OR

Fix Nitrogen in the DARK but not LIGHT

found in non- heterocystic cyanobacteria
(temporal)
 AEROBIC
LIGHT
CO2 + H2O ----------- CH2O (sugar) +O2

Electrons for PS1 come from PS2 which evolves

oxygen (splitting of water)
 ANAEROBIC
in the presence of sulfur

2H2S + CO2 -------- CH2O +2S + H2O

H2S is the electron donor so the reaction does not

produce oxygen.
 Advantage for Cyanobacteria

Can live in fluctuating environments of

aerobic and anaerobic with light
present.
 Cyano toxins in Cyanobacteria
Neurotoxins block neuron
transmission in muscles (Anabaena,
Oscillatoria)

Hepatotoxins inhibit protein

phosphatase, cause liver bleeding.
Found in drinking water. (Anabaena,
Oscillatoria, Nostoc)

Eg. swimmers itch - Lygnbia

 Movement

No flagellae or structures to enhance

movement

A) Excrete mucilage jet propulsion, gliding

B) Helix fibers send waves of contraction

Spirulina
 Spirulina

filamentous
common in lakes with high pH
major food for flamingo populations
commercial food source
Anabaena with a heterocyst

- common bloom forming species with nutrient loads

 Lyngbia martensiana
Releases chemicals causing dermatitis
 Asexual Reproduction
- Hormogonia formation -

- Endospore / Akinete formation -

- Fragmentation

- Exospore
 Asexual Reproduction
Hormogonia short piece of trichome found in
filaments. It detaches from parent filament
and glides away

Hormogonia
Oscillatoria with hormogonia

- short pieces of a trichome that become detached

from the parent filament and glide away to form
new filament.
Oscillatoria (filamentous) with hormogonia
 Asexual Reproduction
Akinete thick walled resting spore

H A - akinete
Akinete
 Asexual Reproduction
Akinete thick walled resting spore

Function resistant to unfavorable

environmental conditions.

Appear as larger cells in the chain and

different than heterocyst. Generally lose
buoyancy
H A - akinete
 Asexual Reproduction
Fragmentation - fragmentation
 Cyanobacteria and Understanding the Past

Stromatolites Shark Bay, W. Australia

Cyanobacteria photosynthesize using water as the
electron donor and produce oxygen as in algae.

A small number of strains can also use

hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and convert it to elemental
sulfur.
In general, cyanobacteria can tolerate low oxygen
conditions and concentrations of H2S that are toxic
to eukaryotic algae.
This tolerance may contribute to their ability to
survive in anoxic, eutrophic lake sediments as well
as in certain mat environments.