Cyanobacteria represent a small taxonomic group of photosynthetic prokaryotes which some of them are capable of N2 fixation and also possess a tremendous potential for producing a wide range of secondary metabolites. It has been suggested that, some of these microorganisms, especially heterocystous cyanobacteria, assist higher plant growth by supplying growth stimulating substances. During a fl...

Prochlorothrix hollandica is filamentous non-heterocystous cyanobacterium which possesses the chlorophyll a/b light-harvesting complexes. Despite the growing interest in unusual green-pigmented cyanobacteria (prochlorophytes) to date only a few sequenced genome from prochlorophytes genera have been reported. This study sequenced the genome of Prochlorothrix hollandica CCAP 1490/1T (CALU1027). T...

Chaperonins promote protein folding and are known to play a role in the maintenance of cellular stability under stress conditions. The group I bacterial chaperonin complex comprises GroEL, that forms a barrel-like oligomer, and GroES that forms the lid. In most eubacteria the GroES/GroEL chaperonin is encoded by a single-copy bicistronic operon, whereas in cyanobacteria up to three groES/groEL ...

1. Catchments export nutrients to aquatic ecosystems at rates and ratios that are strongly influenced by land use practices, and within aquatic ecosystems nutrients can be processed, retained, lost to the atmosphere, or exported downstream. The stoichiometry of carbon and nutrients can influence ecosystem services such as water quality, nutrient limitation, biodiversity, eutrophication and the ...

Small RNAs (sRNAs) are a growing class of non-protein-coding transcripts that participate in the regulation of virtually every aspect of bacterial physiology. Heterocystous cyanobacteria are a group of photosynthetic organisms that exhibit multicellular behavior and developmental alternatives involving specific transcriptomes exclusive of a given physiological condition or even a cell type. In ...

Biological desert crusts are relatively common in the arid deserts of the Sultanate of Oman; however, little is known about their microbial community composition and role in soil fertilization. We compared three crusts from geographically different locations for their soil texture, bacterial community structure, pigment composition and nitrogenase activity. The crusts were growing on alkaline (...

Pyruvate:ferredoxin (flavodoxin) oxidoreductase (PFO, EC 1.2.7.1) catalyses the oxidative cleavage of pyruvate and coenzyme A to acetylcoenzyme A and CO2 with the simultaneous reduction of ferredoxin or flavodoxin. PFO occurs in anaerobes and in some aerobic archaea and bacteria. For cyanobacteria, activity measurements indicated the occurrence of PFO in heterocystous forms. The completely sequ...

We compared the community structures of cyanobacteria in four biological desert crusts from Utah's Colorado Plateau developing on different substrata. We analyzed natural samples, cultures, and cyanobacterial filaments or colonies retrieved by micromanipulation from field samples using microscopy, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. While microscopic analy...