Open AccessT richodesmium – a widespread marine cyanobacterium with unusual nitrogen fixation properties
Author(s) -
Bergman Birgitta,
Sandh Gustaf,
Lin Senjie,
Larsson John,
Carpenter Edward J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
fems microbiology reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.91
H-Index - 212
eISSN - 1574-6976
pISSN - 0168-6445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6976.2012.00352.x
Subject(s) - trichodesmium , diazotroph , biology , nitrogen fixation , cyanobacteria , ecology , marine ecosystem , ecosystem , evolutionary biology , bacteria , genetics
The last several decades have witnessed dramatic advances in unfolding the diversity and commonality of oceanic diazotrophs and their N 2 ‐fixing potential. More recently, substantial progress in diazotrophic cell biology has provided a wealth of information on processes and mechanisms involved. The substantial contribution by the diazotrophic cyanobacterial genus T richodesmium to the nitrogen influx of the global marine ecosystem is by now undisputable and of paramount ecological importance, while the underlying cellular and molecular regulatory physiology has only recently started to unfold. Here, we explore and summarize current knowledge, related to the optimization of its diazotrophic capacity, from genomics to ecophysiological processes, via, for example, cellular differentiation (diazocytes) and temporal regulations, and suggest cellular research avenues that now ought to be explored.