CYANOBACTERIA

• a division of microorganisms that are related to

the bacteria but are capable of photosynthesis.
They are prokaryotic and represent the earliest
known form of life on the earth.
•
Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green
bacteria, blue-green algae, and Cyanophyta, is a
phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy
through photosynthesis.
 OCCURANCE OF CYANOBACTERIA
• Cyanobacteria or blue green algae are the one of most
successful autotrophic organisms on earth which have
mastered all types of environments— fresh water, sea
water, salt marshes, moist rocks, tree trunks, moist soils,
hot springs, frozen waters.
•
Cyanobacteria are the most self contained photosynthetic
organisms. They can, therefore, live under every type of
environment and on every type of substrate. Because of
this fact, they are one of the earliest colonizers of barren
areas. Many of them have the ability of nitrogen fixation.
•
ORGANISATION OF THALLUS
 ORGANISATION OF THALLUS
• The organisation of thallus ranges from unicellular to branched
heterotrichous forms:-
i)Unicellular forms e.g.,Chroococcus,etc
ii)Unicellular polar thalli with a definite base and apex
e.g.,Dermocarpa
iii) Multicellular colonial forms e.g.,Gloeocapsa
iv)Simple unbranched filamentous forms without heterocysts and
akinetes e.g.,Oscillatoria, Spirulina
v) Simple unbranched filaments with heterocyst, e.g.,Nostoc,
Anabaena etc.
vi) Unbranched heterocyst filaments with base and apex, e.g.,
Rivularia, etc.
vii) Heterotrichous filaments with false branching,e.g., Plectonema etc.
viii) Heterotrichous filaments with true branching, e.g., Stigonema etc.
CELL STRUCTURE
 CELL STRUCTURE
• All cyanobacteria except Gleobacter violaceus, have an internal system of
thylakoid membrane in which the light reaction of photosynthesis and respiration
occur.
• Besides the thylakoid membrane the cyanobacteria cytosol contains components
such as carboxysomes, glycogen granules, cyanophycin granules, lipid bodies,
polyphosphate bodies.
• Cyanobacterial cells are more elaborate and larger than bacteria.
• Cyanobacteria have typically prokaryotic cell structure naked DNA, 70s ribosome,
one envelope organization with peptidoglycan.
. Membrane bound structure like endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, Golgi
bodies, SAP vacuoles, plastids are absent in cyanobacteria.
• Cyanobacteria cell wall is four layered with peptidoglycan is present in the second
layer.
• The gas vacuoles are common in planktonic forms. They are vesicles filled with gas
and bounded by single membrane.
• There is no mitotic cell division in cyanobacteria. The cells divide by fission or
amitotic division.
 NUTRITION
• Cyanobacteria contain chlorophyll a and other
photosynthetic pigments.
• They synthesize their own carbohydrate food
from carbohydrate food from carbon dioxide
and water in presence of light by the process
called oxygenic photosynthesis.
 Reproduction
• Cyanobacteria employee’s variety of mechanism with respect to
reproduction:
• Binary fission.
• Budding
• Fragmentation.
• Multiple fission.
• Fragmentation of filamentous cyanobacteria form small, motile filaments
called hormogonia.
• Some cyanobacterial species develop akinetes, specialised, thick- walled
dormant resting cells that protect the organism in unfavourable
conditions.
• Cyanobacteria lack the enzyme alpha ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, thus
they do not have a fully functional citric acid cycle.
Economic Importance of
Cyanobacteria
OSCILLATORIA
 OSCILLATORIA
• Oscillatoria princeps is the type species (lectotype) of
the cyanobacterial (blue green algal)
genus Oscillatoria. The cyanobacterium is dark blue
green in colour.
• Oscillatoria is a genus of filamentous cyanobacterium
which is named after the oscillation in its movement.
Filaments in the colonies can slide back and forth
against each other until the whole mass is reoriented
to its light source.
Some common species of Oscillatoria

Plate 1: Figures 1-10 Oscillatoria Vaucher

1: O. anguina 2: O. tenuis 3: O. subbrevis 4: O.
nigro-viridis 5: O. vizagapatensis 6: O.
proboscidea 7: O. sancta
8: O. limosa 9: O. maragaritifera 10: O. princep
 Occurance of Oscillatoria
• Oscillatoria, a fresh water, blue green alga, is represented
by 76 species. Species are commonly found in fresh and
polluted water of ponds, pools, drains, streams, and also in
damp soils and rocks. These form bluish scums on water
surface or at pond-bottom.

• O. princeps grows in sea water and sub-aerial habitats. O.

brevis can separation bear a temperature of -16°C while O.
terebriformis occurs in hot water springs (thermal algae).
Some of saprophytic species are found in the digestive and
respiratory tracts of the animals.
 THALLUS STRUCTURE OF
OSCILLATORIA
• It is an un-branched filamentous alga (Fig. 1A). Filaments
may be either attached or free floating and rarely occur
singly. In majority of the species they form compact tangle
mass or spongy sheets. The filaments may be interwoven
or arranged in parallel rows. The filaments are uniseriate
each containing a single trichome the trichomes are usually
naked and have a thin, poorly developed sheath.
• They are usually smooth but sometimes constricted at the
cross walls. Each trichome is an un-branched, long, flat
thread like structure made up of numerous cells. The cells
are broader than in their length and show prokaryotic
organization.
 CELL STRUCTURE
• Cell wall is made of mucopeptide. Ultra structurally it consists mainly a 2000 A
structural layer external to plasma membrane.
• Under an ordinary microscope the protoplasm is distinguishable into a peripheral
chromoplasm and a central colourless centroplasin or central body.
• Ultrastructure of cell shows that the chromoplasm contains photosynthetic
lamellae or single thylakoid which often run parallel to one another. The thylakoids
contain photosynthetic pigments like chlorophyll a, carotenes, xanthophyll’s and
phycobilins (C-phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, c-phycoerythrin).
• Phycobilins occur in minute vesicles called phycobilisomes. The centroplasm
represents the incipient nucleus called gonophore. It is represented by DNA fibrils.
The cell contains many ribosomes but mitochondria, plastids, ER and Golgi bodies
are absent.
• Reserve food material is in the form of cyanophycean starch, lipid, globules and
cyanophycin. The protoplasm also contains two types of granules α and β α
granules contain proteins and polysaccharides.
 Reproduction in Oscillatoria
• 1. By fragmentation:
• It occurs due to accidental breakage of the filament, biting of some
.insects or animals. Filament divides into small pieces or fragments.
Each of these fragments is capable of developing into new
individual.
• 2. By hormorgonia:
• Hormogonia or hormogones are short segments of trichome which
consists few cells. Hormogones are formed due to formation of
separation discs. These discs are mucilaginous, pad like and
biconcave in shape. These are formed by death of one or more cells
of the filament. These mucilage filled dead cells are also called
necridia.
 MOVEMENT IN OSCILLATORIA
• The name Oscillatoria (oscillare, to swing) is given
to this alga due to the peculiar movement shown
by the. trichome. It is called ‘oscillatory
movement’. These are the jerky, pendulum-like
movements of the apical region of the trichome.
• Some other movements shown by the trichomes
of Oscillatoria are:
• Gliding or creeping movement:
• The trichome moves forward and backward along
its long axis.