Gloeocapsa (from the Greek gloia (gelatinous) and the Latin capsa (case)) is a genus of cyanobacteria. [2] The cells secrete individual gelatinous sheaths which can often be seen as sheaths around recently divided cells within outer sheaths. Recently divided cell pairs often appear to be only one cell since the new cells cohere temporarily. They are also known as glow caps, a term derived from the yellowish hue given off by the cap.
Some species of this genus are halophiles and hence found in hypersaline lakes and other high salinity environments. An example of such occurrence of the genus is in the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana. [3] Gloeocapsa magma is noted for colonising roof shingles in the United States and Canada. [4] Fossilized Gloeocapsa have been dated from as early as 1.5 billion years ago, found in the Ural mountains in Russia.
A halophile is an extremophile that thrives in high salt concentrations. In chemical terms, halophile refers to a Lewis acidic species that has some ability to extract halides from other chemical species.
Vibrio is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria, possessing a curved-rod (comma) shape, several species of which can cause foodborne infection, usually associated with eating undercooked seafood. Being highly salt tolerant and unable to survive in fresh water, Vibrio spp. are commonly found in various salt water environments. Vibrio spp. are facultative anaerobes that test positive for oxidase and do not form spores. All members of the genus are motile. They are able to have polar or lateral flagellum with or without sheaths. Vibrio species typically possess two chromosomes, which is unusual for bacteria. Each chromosome has a distinct and independent origin of replication, and are conserved together over time in the genus. Recent phylogenies have been constructed based on a suite of genes.
The Planctomycetota are a phylum of widely distributed bacteria, occurring in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. They play a considerable role in global carbon and nitrogen cycles, with many species of this phylum capable of anaerobic ammonium oxidation, also known as anammox. Many Planctomycetota occur in relatively high abundance as biofilms, often associating with other organisms such as macroalgae and marine sponges.
Myoviridae is a family of bacteriophages in the order Caudovirales. Bacteria and archaea serve as natural hosts. There are 625 species in this family, assigned to eight subfamilies and 217 genera.
Nostoc, also known as star jelly, troll’s butter, spit of moon, fallen star, witch's butter, and witch’s jelly, is the most common genus of cyanobacteria found in a variety of both aquatic and terrestrial environments that may form colonies composed of filaments of moniliform cells in a gelatinous sheath of polysaccharides. It may also grow symbiotically within the tissues of plants, providing nitrogen to its host through the action of terminally differentiated cells known as heterocysts. Nostoc is a genus that includes many species that are diverse in morphology, habitat distribution, and ecological function. Nostoc can be found in soil, on moist rocks, at the bottom of lakes and springs, and rarely in marine habitats. It may also be found in terrestrial temperate, desert, tropical, or polar environments.
Nodularia is a genus of filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. They occur mainly in brackish or salinic waters, such as the hypersaline Makgadikgadi Pans, the Peel-Harvey Estuary in Western Australia or the Baltic Sea. Nodularia cells occasionally form heavy algal blooms. Some strains produce a cyanotoxin called nodularin R, which is harmful to humans.
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) refers to pneumonia contracted by a person outside of the healthcare system. In contrast, hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is seen in patients who have recently visited a hospital or who live in long-term care facilities. CAP is common, affecting people of all ages, and its symptoms occur as a result of oxygen-absorbing areas of the lung (alveoli) filling with fluid. This inhibits lung function, causing dyspnea, fever, chest pains and cough.
The Nostocaceae are a family of cyanobacteria that forms filament-shaped colonies enclosed in mucus or a gelatinous sheath. Some genera in this family are found primarily in fresh water, while others are found primarily in salt water. Other genera may be found in both fresh and salt water. Most benthic algae of the order Nostocales belong to this family.
Hydnellum peckii is a fungus in the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses.
Dictyostelium discoideum is a species of soil-dwelling amoeba belonging to the phylum Amoebozoa, infraphylum Mycetozoa. Commonly referred to as slime mold, D. discoideum is a eukaryote that transitions from a collection of unicellular amoebae into a multicellular slug and then into a fruiting body within its lifetime. Its unique asexual life cycle consists of four stages: vegetative, aggregation, migration, and culmination. The life cycle of D. discoideum is relatively short, which allows for timely viewing of all stages. The cells involved in the life cycle undergo movement, chemical signaling, and development, which are applicable to human cancer research. The simplicity of its life cycle makes D. discoideum a valuable model organism to study genetic, cellular, and biochemical processes in other organisms.
Nitzschia is a common pennate marine diatom. In the scientific literature, this genus, named after Christian Ludwig Nitzsch, is sometimes referred to incorrectly as Nitzchia, and it has many species described, which all have a similar morphology. In its current circumscription, Nitzschia is paraphyletic.
Paradiaptomus africanus is a species of copepod in the family Diaptomidae. As an example occurrence, Lovenula africana is found within the Makgadikgadi Pans, a seasonal hypersaline wetland in Botswana.
Gloeocapsa magma is a species of bacteria in the gloeocapsa genus of cyanobacteria, an ancient line of photosynthesizing bacteria, which photolyze water generating oxygen gas. Ancient cyanobacteria were ancestral to the chloroplasts of all plants on earth. Gloeocapsa magma may resemble "algae" in that they are green, but in fact cyanobacteria are bacteria whereas algae are single-celled eukaryotes that are closely related to plants.
Thioploca is a genus of filamentous sulphur-oxidizing bacteria which occurs along 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) of coast off the west of South America. Was discovered in 1907 by R. Lauterborn classified as belonging to the order Thiotrichales, part of the Gammaproteobacteria. They inhabit as well marine as freshwater environments, with vast communities present off the Pacific coast of South America and other areas with a high organic matter sedimentation and bottom waters rich in nitrate and poor in oxygen. A large vacuole occupies more than 80% of their cellular volume and is used as a storage for nitrate. This nitrate is used for the sulphur oxidation, an important characteristic of the genus. Due to their unique size in diameters, ranging from 15-40 µm, they are considered part of the largest bacteria known. Because they use both sulfur and nitrogen compounds they may provide an important link between the nitrogen and sulphur cycles. They secrete a sheath of mucus which they use as a tunnel to travel between the sulfide containing sediment and the nitrate containing sea water.
Ascocoryne sarcoides is a species of fungus in the family Helotiaceae. The species name is derived from the Greek sarkodes (fleshy). Formerly known as Coryne sarcoides, its taxonomical history has been complicated by the fact that it may adopt both sexual and asexual forms. Colloquially known as jelly drops or the purple jellydisc, this common fungus appears as a gelatinous mass of pinkish or purple-colored discs. Distributed widely in North America, Europe and Asia, A. sarcoides is a saprobic fungus and grows in clusters on the trunks and branches of a variety of dead woods. Field studies suggest that colonization by A. sarcoides of the heartwood of black spruce confers some resistance to further infection by rot-causing fungi. A. sarcoides contains the antibiotic compound ascocorynin, shown in the laboratory to inhibit the growth of several Gram-positive bacteria.
The Loramycetaceae are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota, class Leotiomycetes. This is a monotypic taxon, containing the single genus Loramyces; the genus contains two aquatic species, L. juncicola, named by American mycologist William H. Weston in 1929, and L. macrosporus, first described by C.T. Ingold and B. Chapman in 1952.
Pleurobrachia bachei is a member of the phylum Ctenophora and is commonly referred to as the Pacific sea gooseberry. These comb jellies are often mistaken for medusoid Cnidaria, but lack stinging cells.
Radaisia is a genus of coccoid cyanobacterium comprising about 10 identified species. It is a colonial cyanobacterium, the bacteria initially forming a round to irregularly shaped flat group of gelatinous or crustose cells attached to the substrate from which arise rows of pseudofilamentous cells in mucilaginous sheaths perpendicular to the initial colony. Apical cells of the pseodofilamentous sheaths are elongate compared to proximal cells in the sheath. Cell division in the genus is notably irregular, although usually perpendicular to the axis in the pseudofilament. The cells are light blue-green to reddish purple in color.
Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii is a freshwater cyanobacterium. (name currently accepted taxonomically: Raphidipsis raciborskii)
Nostoc commune is a species of cyanobacterium in the family Nostocaceae. Common names include star jelly, witch's butter, mare's eggs, fah-tsai and facai. It is the type species of the genus Nostoc and is cosmopolitan in distribution.
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