Petalonema alatum

Petalonema alatum
objective 40x
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Subkingdom: Eubacteria
Phylum: Cyanobacteria
Class: Cyanophyceae
Order: Nostocales
Family: Microchaetaceae
Genus: Petalonema
Species: P. alatum
Binomial name
Petalonema alatum
Berkeley ex Kirchner

Petalonema alatum is a cyanobacterium (cyanophyte, cyanoprokaryote) described and drawn first time by the Scottish author Dugald Carmichael under the taxonomic name Oscillatoria allata in the book of Scottish cryptogamic flora edited by Greville in 1826 and later published under the still valid name Petalonema alatum by Miles Joseph Berkeley in 1833. It is an oxyphotosynthetic bacterium. This prokaryote produces a rich structured mucopolysaccharide (slime) packaging in the form of interlocking slime funnels. The structure looks like a quill under the light microscope, supposedly therefore this cyanobacterium has its species name (adjective) "alatum". These slime envelopes are up to 270 μm wide in diameter and are therefore visible by the naked eye as filiform formations ("nema" = floss). Its name in Latinized Greek Petalonema alatum reflected its properties and could be translated as "quill-widefloss". The habitats (ekotops) for this filamentous cyanobacterium are mainly wet limestone walls and creates together with other bacteria, microalgae, bryophytes and micromycets gray or gray-brown biofilms/growns. It is a remarkable prokaryote with specialized cells - yellow heterocytes to bind atmospheric nitrogen which are in colour contrast to vegetative blue-green/turquoise cells in filamentous thallus.

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