Azo dyes have become a threat to public health because of its toxicity and carcinogenicity. Azoreductase enzyme plays a pivotal role in the degradation of azodyes released by industrial effluents and other resources. The degradation pathway has to be studied in detail for increasing the activity of azoreductase and for better degradation of azo dyes. But the data available on cyanobacterial azo...

Genomic DNA of Nostoc commune (Cyanobacteria) became covalently modified during decades of desiccation. Amplification of gene loci from desiccated cells required pretreatment of DNA with N-phenacylthiazolium bromide, a reagent that cleaves DNA- and protein-linked advanced glycosylation end-products. DNA from 13 year desiccated cells did not show any higher levels of the commonly studied oxidati...

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) has extensive clinical applications for protecting organisms from toxic oxidation. In this study, the integrated iron-superoxide dismutase gene (fe-sod) coding sequence of Nostoc commune stain CHEN was cloned from genomic DNA and compared to sods from other reported algae. These analyses of immunology and phylogenetics indicated that this Fe-SOD is considerably ...

A dry sample of Nostoc commune from an organic farm in Pingtung city (Taiwan) was used to prepare polysaccharide-rich (NCPS) extract. The conditioned medium (CM) from NCPS-treated human peripheral blood (PB)-mononuclear cells (MNC) effectively inhibited the growth of human leukemic U937 cells and triggered differentiation of U937 monoblast cells into monocytic/macrophagic lines. Cytokine levels...

The sensory rhodopsin from Anabaena (Nostoc) sp. PCC7120 is the first cyanobacterial retinylidene protein identified. Here, we report on NosACO (Nostoc apo-carotenoid oxygenase), encoded by the ORF (open reading frame) all4284, as the candidate responsible for the formation of the required chromophore, retinal. In contrast with the enzymes from animals, NosACO converts beta-apo-carotenals inste...

The Raman spectra of cyanobacterial species, Gloecapsa and Nostoc, in clear gypsum crystals from the Haughton Crater, Devon Island, Canadian High Arctic, site of a meteorite impact during the Miocene some 23 Mya, have been recorded using several visible and near-infrared excitation wavelengths. The best spectra were obtained using a green wavelength at 514.5 nm and a confocal microscope with an...