Tansley Review No. 107. Heterocyst and akinete differentiation in cyanobacteria

Behavior of filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena spp. in water column and its cellular characteristics

“…Adams and Duggan [11] claimed that decreased cell division is a common physiological trigger for akinete formation; however, our results do not support their claim. It is certain that deceleration of growth rate by decreasing light intensity has a negative effect on akinete formation.…”

The Heat Tolerance of Dry Colonies of a Terrestrial Cyanobacterium, <i>Nostoc</i> sp. HK-01

“…Metabolic activities of matured akinetes are very low or undetectable (Adams and Duggan, 1999;Kaplan-Levy et al, 2010). Leprince et al, (1999) and Hoekstra et al, (2001) suggested that reduction of metabolism was an important factor to avoid oxidative stress from reactive O 2 spices (ROS) during dryness.…”

“…Akinetes accumulate glycogen and granules of cyanophycin (Adams and Duggan 1999;Garcia-Pichel, 2010;Kaplan-Levy et al, 2010). Accumulation of a compatible solute such as sucrose and/or trehalose is well known as dry tolerance in cyanobacteria, yeast, fungal spores, artemia, tardigrade, Polypedilum vanderplanki and lower and higher plants (Hershkovitz et al, 1991;Hill et al, 1994;Crowe et al, 1998;Hoekstra et al, 2001;Potts, 2001;Elbein et al, 2003;Higo et al, 2006;Hengherr et al, 2008;Sakurai et al, 2008;Jönsson and Persson, 2010).…”

“…HK-01, vegetative cells, which have photosynthetic abilities, heterocysts, which have nitrogen fixation abilities, hormogonia, which are motile cells, and akinetes, which are dormant cells (Adams and Duggan 1999;Katoh et al, 2003;Kaplan-Levy et al, 2010). Generally, akinetes are known for having a high tolerance to desiccation, but their tolerance to high heat has not been yet investigated (Adams and Duggan 1999;Garcia-Pichel, 2010;KaplanLevy et al, 2010). Hori et al, (2003) have been reported about the heat tolerance of akinetes to 60 ˚C for 50 h.…”

Enhanced Resistance to UV-B Radiation in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 (Cyanophyceae) by Repeated Exposure

“…Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 is an N 2 -fixing filamentous and heterocystous cyanobacteria, and heterocyst formation was induced under N-limited conditions [1]. Many studies on the anti-stress of Anabaena sp.…”