Anabaena
Anabaena is a genus of filamentous cyanobacteria that exist as plankton. They are known for nitrogen-fixing abilities, and they form symbiotic relationships with certain plants, such as the mosquito fern. They are one of four genera of cyanobacteria that produce neurotoxins, which are harmful to local wildlife, as well as farm animals and pets. Production of these neurotoxins is assumed to be an input into its symbiotic relationships, protecting the plant from grazing pressure.
A DNA sequencing project was undertaken by the United States Department of Energy between 1999 and 2005. This project mapped the complete genome of model organism Anabaena variabilis ATCC 29413, which is 7.2 million base pairs long. A paper detailing the process was published in 2014. The study focused on heterocysts, which convert nitrogen into ammonia. Certain species of Anabaena have been used on rice paddy fields, proving to be an effective natural fertilizer.
22 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Anabaena inaequalis
speciesAnabaena inaequalis
Anabaena pseudoscillatoria
speciesAnabaena pseudoscillatoria
Anabaena echinospora
speciesAnabaena echinospora
Anabaena sphaerica
speciesAnabaena sphaerica
Anabaena torulosa
speciesAnabaena torulosa
Anabaena subcylindrica
speciesAnabaena subcylindrica
Anabaena cylindrica
speciesAnabaena cylindrica
Anabaena aequalis
speciesAnabaena aequalis
Anabaena wisconsinensis
speciesAnabaena wisconsinensis
Anabaena iyengarii
speciesAnabaena iyengarii
Anabaena minderi
speciesAnabaena minderi
Anabaena contorta
speciesAnabaena contorta
Anabaena sedovii
speciesAnabaena sedovii
Anabaena baltica
speciesAnabaena baltica
Anabaena felisii
speciesAnabaena felisii
Anabaena levanderi
speciesAnabaena levanderi
Anabaena orientalis
speciesAnabaena orientalis
Anabaena lapponica
speciesAnabaena lapponica
Anabaena zierlingii
speciesAnabaena zierlingii
Anabaena augstumalis
speciesAnabaena augstumalis
Anabaena cycadae
speciesAnabaena cycadae
Anabaena hatueyi
speciesAnabaena hatueyi
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Anabaena in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 200855.