Cyanobacteria Flashcards
What are the two forms of cyanobacteria?
Filamentous or unicellular forms
What 5 groups is cyanobacteria divided into?
- Unicellular, binary fission
- Unicellular, multiple fission
- Filamentous, undifferentiated
- Filamentous, divide on a single plane
- Filamentous, branching
What were cyanobacteria the first of?
First oxygen-evolving phototrophic organisms of Earth
What did cyanobacteria do as the first oxygen-evolving phototrophic organisms on Earth?
Converted atmosphere from anoxic to oxygenated
What kind of phototrophs are cyanobacteria?
Oxygenic phototrophs
Where does photosynthesis occur in cyanobacteria?
In the thylakoid membrane
What kind of pigments do cyanobacteria have?
All produce chlorophyll a pigment and most also have phycobilin pigments
What do the chlorophyll a and phycobilin pigments do in cyanobacteria?
They are accessory pigments in photosynthesis.
Many cyanobacterium exhibit gliding motility. What are some examples of this?
Rotations, reversals, and flexing of filaments. Also phototaxis and chemotaxis
How do cyanobacteria float?
Gas vesicles
Cyanobacteria have hormogonia and akinetes. What are these?
Hormogonia are filaments that help cyanobacteria move. Akinetes are “resting”, survival cells of cyanobacteria.
In what area is nitrogen fixed in cyanobacteria?
In the heterocysts, which are on the ends or along the filament
Describe the ecological diversity of cyanobacteria.
They are widely found in nature and tolerant of extreme environments, such as hot springs, saline lakes, and desert soils
What theory involved cyanobacteria?
The theory of endosymbiosis due to it having chloroplast in it.
