Cyanobacteria development

Question 1

What are akinetes?

Answer 1

Cyanobacteria resting cells (produced by filaments)
-non-motile and dormant
-allow survival in severe stress, eg. starvation, cold

Question 2

What are hormogonia?

Answer 2

Motile units of a few cells which break off the end of a filament of Cyanobacteria
-reproduction

Question 3

What is a trichome?

Answer 3

filament of cells
eg. in heterocystous cyanobacteria or oscillatorian cyanobacteria

Question 4

Describe Chroococcacean cyanobacteria

Answer 4

simplest group of cyanobacteria
-unicellular rods or cocci
-non-motile
-divide by binary fission

Question 5

Describe Pleurocapsalean cyanobacteria

Answer 5

simple group of cyanobacteria
-unicellular but aggregate
-divide by multiple fission of a vegetative cell to form baeocytes (in multiple fission, parental cell divides into multiple daughter cells rather just 2)

Question 6

Describe Oscillatorian cyanobacteria

Answer 6

trichome (filamentous) group of cyanobacteia
-motile units of cells (hormogonia) break off to reproduce

Question 7

Describe Heterocystous cyanobacteria

Answer 7

trichome (filamentous) group of cyanobacteia
-at intervals along filament have heterocysts
-have resting cells (dormant, non-motile) akinetes
-motile units of cells (hormogonia) break off to reproduce