Nostoc and Anabaena help in
Nostoc and Anabaena help in
- Nostoc
These organisms are found in lakes, ponds, sand or usually just where the ripples lap the shore. They form spherical colonies of filaments embedded in a gelatinous substance, ranging in size from a pinhead to a marble. Within these jellylike sheaths are many tangled filaments made up of cells.
Along the filaments are the heterocytes. These are cells that contain membranes and enzymes needed for nitrogen fixation. They have thick walls and pores at either side where they meet other cells.
Their usual method of reproduction is fragmentation or simple fission – a cell divides into two smaller cells and the filaments grow in length. However, in harsh environments, Nostoc produce spores. Each spore has thick walls containing food and when they mature, they separate from the parent filament and germinate to other locations. The spores have the ability to survive extreme conditions such as cold temperatures.
- Anabaena
Anabaenas are known for their intercalary heterocysts and amorphous filaments. They are also known for their nitrogen fixing abilities.
Anabaenas have an endosymbiotic relationship with specific plants. Some of these organisms live within the plants and they serve as chloroplasts in which plants use to make their food. Furthermore, anabaenas also protect their habitat by producing neurotoxins which are harmful to animals. For this reason, certain anabaenas are used as effective natural fertilizers.
Cynobacteria such as the Nostoc and the Anabeana have been tremendously essential in the process of evolution and the ecosystem. Over the years, millions if not billions of these organisms changed the chemistry of the air we breathe from being unsuitable to viable for life.
- Nostoc
These organisms are found in lakes, ponds, sand or usually just where the ripples lap the shore. They form spherical colonies of filaments embedded in a gelatinous substance, ranging in size from a pinhead to a marble. Within these jellylike sheaths are many tangled filaments made up of cells.
Along the filaments are the heterocytes. These are cells that contain membranes and enzymes needed for nitrogen fixation. They have thick walls and pores at either side where they meet other cells.
Their usual method of reproduction is fragmentation or simple fission – a cell divides into two smaller cells and the filaments grow in length. However, in harsh environments, Nostoc produce spores. Each spore has thick walls containing food and when they mature, they separate from the parent filament and germinate to other locations. The spores have the ability to survive extreme conditions such as cold temperatures.
- Anabaena
Anabaenas are known for their intercalary heterocysts and amorphous filaments. They are also known for their nitrogen fixing abilities.
Anabaenas have an endosymbiotic relationship with specific plants. Some of these organisms live within the plants and they serve as chloroplasts in which plants use to make their food. Furthermore, anabaenas also protect their habitat by producing neurotoxins which are harmful to animals. For this reason, certain anabaenas are used as effective natural fertilizers.
Cynobacteria such as the Nostoc and the Anabeana have been tremendously essential in the process of evolution and the ecosystem. Over the years, millions if not billions of these organisms changed the chemistry of the air we breathe from being unsuitable to viable for life.
