The Cell Biology of Cyanobacteria

Abstract

The cyanobacteria are a fascinating group of bacteria that have adapted to colonize almost every environment on the planet. They are the only prokaryotes capable of oxygenic photosynthesis, responsible for up to 20-30% of Earth's photosynthetic productivity. They can attune their light-harvesting systems to changes in available light conditions, fix nitrogen, and have circadian rhythms. In addition, many cyanobacteria species exhibit gliding mobility and can differentiate into specialized cell types called heterocysts, and some are symbiotic. Thanks to their simple nutritional requirements, their metabolic plasticity, and the powerful genetics of some model strains, cyanobacteria could be exploited for use as microbial cell factories for carbon capture and storage, and for the sustainable production of secondary metabolites and biofuels. Understanding their cell biology is an essential step to achieving this. In this book, leading senior scientists and young researchers review the current key topics in cyanobacterial cell biology to provide a timely overview. Topics covered include: historical background cell division the cell envelope the thylakoid membrane protein targeting, transport, and translocation chromatic acclimation the carboxysome glycogen as a dynamic storage of photosynthetically fixed carbon cyanophycin gas vesicles motility in unicellular and filamentous cyanobacteria cellular differentiation in filamentous cyanobacteria cell-cell joining proteins in heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria. This cutting-edge text will provide a valuable resource for all those working in this field and is recommended for all microbiology libraries.