''Scytonema'' is a genus of photosynthetic

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blu ...

that contains over 100 species. It grows in filaments that form dark mats. Many species are aquatic and are either free-floating or grow attached to a submerged substrate, while others species grow on terrestrial rocks, wood, soil, or plants. ''Scytonema'' is a nitrogen fixer, and can provide fixed nitrogen to the leaves of plants on which it is growing. Some species of ''Scytonema'' form a

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

relationship with

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

to produce a

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. Scyptolins are a type of

elastase In molecular biology, elastase is an enzyme from the class of ''proteases (peptidases)'' that break down proteins. In particular, it is a serine protease. Forms and classification Eight human genes exist for elastase: Some bacteria (includin ...

inhibitors isolated from some species of ''Scytonema''. A study comparing red macroalgae to ''Scytonema'' species showed their potential for cosmetical use, both for their

antioxidant Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricant ...

s properties and photoprotection capacities due to their compounds MAAs, and scytonemin (unique to ''Scytonema''). This study indicated that they could be used as photoprotectors absorbing both in the UV-B and UV-A.

Species

''Scytonema'' includes the following subtaxa:M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2018. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=Rc504974e8d4a0331 ; searched on 17 August 2018.

References

External links

*
Scytonema
' Nostocales Cyanobacteria genera {{cyanobacteria-stub