About Pushkarmema curajae:
- It is a new species of cyanobacteria.
- It was identified from Pushkar Lake in Ajmer, Rajasthan.
- The genus name Pushkar and species name curajae are dedicated to Pushkar Lake and Central University of Rajasthan.
- curajae could potentially be used to develop drugs, biofertilizers, and even nutrient-rich supplements that improve immunity and overall health.
Key Facts about Cyanobacteria:
- They are photosynthetic microscopic organisms found naturally in all types of water.
- They were originally called blue-green algae (though they are not true algae) because dense growths often turn the water green, blue-green, or brownish-green.
- They are usually unicellular, though they often grow in colonies large enough to see.
- They are prokaryotic organisms (lack a true nucleus and membrane-bound organelles).
- While often a green or blue-green colour, they can also be white, brown, blue, yellow-brown, or red.
- They live in fresh, brackish (combined salt and fresh water), and marine water.
- They photosynthesise like plants and have similar requirements for sunlight, nutrients, and carbon dioxide to grow and produce oxygen.
- In addition to being photosynthetic, many species of cyanobacteria can also “fix” atmospheric nitrogen—that is, they can transform the gaseous nitrogen of the air into compounds that can be used by living cells.
- They have the distinction of being the oldest known fossils, more than 3.5 billion years old.
- The cyanobacteria have also been tremendously important in shaping the course of evolution and ecological change throughout earth's history.
- The oxygen atmosphere that we depend on was generated by numerous cyanobacteria during the Archaean and Proterozoic Eras.
- High nutrient concentrations can promote a population explosion of these organisms and result in algal blooms, especially during warm weather.
- Cyanobacterial blooms lead to deterioration of water quality and production of toxins by some species.
- Exposure to algal toxins has been linked to fatalities of livestock, wildlife, and pets.
