Synechocystis
| Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Cyanobacteria |
| Order: | Chroococcales |
| Genus: | Synechocystis |
| Species: | S. sp. PCC6803 |
| Binomial name | |
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Synechocystis sp. |
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Synechocystis is a genus of unicellular, freshwater cyanobacteria primarily represented by the strain Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 is capable of both phototrophic growth by oxygenic photosynthesis during light periods and heterotrophic growth by glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation during dark periods. Gene expression is regulated by a circadian clock and the organism can effectively anticipate transitions between the light and dark phases.
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that have existed on Earth for an estimated 2.7 billion years. The ability of cyanobacteria to produce oxygen initiated the transition from a planet consisting of high levels of carbon dioxide and little oxygen, to what has been called the Great Oxygenation Event where large amounts of oxygen gas were produced.Cyanobacteria have colonized a wide diversity of habitats, including fresh and salt water ecosystems, and most land environments. Phylogenetically, Synechocystis branches off later in the cyanobacterial evolutionary tree, further from the ancestral root (Gloeobacter violaceus).Synechocystis, which is non-diazotrophic, is closely related to another model organism, Cyanothece ATCC 51442, which is a diazotroph. Thus, it has been proposed that Synechocystis originally possessed the ability to fix nitrogen gas, but lost the genes required for a fully functioning nitrogen fixation (nif) gene cluster.
Cyanobacteria are model microorganisms for the study of photosynthesis, carbon and nitrogen assimilation, evolution of plant plastids, and adaptability to environmental stresses. Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 is one of the most highly studied types of cyanobacteria as it can grow both autotrophically or heterotrophically in the absence of light. It was isolated from a freshwater lake in 1968 and grows best between 32 and 38 degrees Celsius.Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 can readily take up exogenous DNA, in addition to up taking DNA via electroporation, ultrasonic transformation and conjugation. The photosynthetic apparatus is very similar to the one found in land plants. The organism also exhibits phototactic movement.
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