-
- Note
the rounded, basal heterocysts and the
- elongated
akinetes immediately
adjacent to them.
-
The
filaments sometimes arrange radially to form spherical or hemispherical
colonies surrounded by distinct, firm mucilage. These colonies
may be microscopic or as large as several centimeters. |
- Gloeotrichia filaments
have distinctive basal heterocysts and akinetes and tapered apical
hairs. The trichomes themselves may be tapered or constricted,
and are straight, curved, or bent in form. Rarely, false branching
occurs as branches grow parallel to the main filament. The cells
may
- be
barrel-shaped, cylindrical, or elongated and hair-like, and blue-green,
red, or brown in color. The cells sometimes contain groups of
gas vesicles.
-
- The
heterocysts are spherical, ellipsoidal, or hemispherical and
usually grow at the end of the filament. The akinetes are more
elongated in form and have rounded ends, and sometimes form chains.
Akinetes develop when vegetative cells adjacent to the heterocysts
begin to enlarge and form thick walls. The akinetes can then
separate from the sheath containing the rest of the filament
and germinate to produce new growth.
-
-
|
