''Aphanizomenon ovalisporum'' is a filamentous cyanobacteria present in many algal blooms.

Morphology

''Aphanizomenon ovalisporum'' is a filamentous gram negative bacterium of the genus ''

Aphanizomenon ''Aphanizomenon'' is a genus of cyanobacteria that inhabits freshwater lakes and can cause dense blooms. They are unicellular organisms that consolidate into linear (non-branching) chains called trichomes. Parallel trichomes can then further uni ...

''. The bacterial filaments are unbranched

trichomes Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

. The cells are approximately 5 um in diameter, and are

motile Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy. Definitions Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms th ...

through gliding. This species produces two differentiated cells,

heterocyst Heterocysts or heterocytes are specialized nitrogen-fixing cells formed during nitrogen starvation by some filamentous cyanobacteria, such as '' Nostoc punctiforme'', ''Cylindrospermum stagnale'', and ''Anabaena sphaerica''. They fix nitrogen fr ...

s, and

akinete An akinete is an enveloped, thick-walled, non-motile, dormant cell formed by filamentous, heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria under the order Nostocales and Stigonematales. Akinetes are resistant to cold and desiccation. They also accumulate and sto ...

Metabolism

''Aphanizomenon ovalisporum'' uses oxygenic

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

, like other cyanobacteria. The heterocyst cells of this species can fix nitrogen into ammonium.

Genome

The genome of ''Aphanizomenon ovalisporum'' is approximately 7.47 Mbp in size, with a GC content of 50.39%. There are 2851 coding sequences. The strain analyzed was isolated in Madrid, Spain.

Environment

The species was first described during an algal bloom in

Lake Kinneret The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest f ...

, Israel, 1994. However, other isolates have been obtained from countries around Europe, such as Spain. The most recent samples were taken from a man-made lake in Madrid. This cyanobacterial species can rapidly change its environment during algal blooms, in which it produces toxins such as

cylindrospermopsin Cylindrospermopsin (abbreviated to CYN, or CYL) is a cyanotoxin produced by a variety of freshwater cyanobacteria. CYN is a polycyclic uracil derivative containing guanidino and sulfate groups. It is also zwitterionic, making it highly water ...

, which can cause headaches, vomiting and other symptoms in humans, as well as leading to the

deoxygenation Deoxygenation is a chemical reaction involving the removal of oxygen atoms from a molecule. The term also refers to the removal of molecular oxygen (O2) from gases and solvents, a step in air-free technique and gas purifiers. As applied to orga ...

of the local water.

References

Nostocales {{Cyanobacteria-stub