Structure & Function(s)

Structure:

Cyanobacteria are typically very small in size, although the way that they grow in colonies makes them appear large enough to be visible. They have a definite cell wall surrounded by a thin or a thick gelatinous coat, along with an inner layer of cell wall made up of peptidoglycans, which are polymers made up of sugar and amino acids.

Cyanobacteria’s inner contents can be separated into two parts: the chromoplasm (outer pigmented area) and the centroplasm (central clear, hyaline area) which contains photosynthetic chlorophyll.   They lack both a nuclues and chloroplast. Below is a diagram of the cell structure for Cyanobacteria:

[Cell Structure]
(n.d) Cell Structure. Retrieved from: http://www.tutorvista.com/content/biology/
biology-iii/kingdoms-living-world/cyanobacteria.php#nutrition (17/04/2013)

Function

·         Cyanobacteria plays a part in the origin of plants, as the chloroplasts that plants use to make themselves food, are actually a cyanobacterium living within the plant’s cells.

·         Play a role in producing food for certain eukaryotic cells, in exchange for a home (endosymbiosis)         

·         Converts atmospheric nitrogen into organic form such as nitrate  or ammonia