Microsystis

Kingdom: Monera

Division: Cynophysia

Class: Cynophyceae

Order: Chrococcales

Family: Chrococcaceae

Genus: Microsystis

Microsystis is a free floating or planktonic blue green algae commonly found in fresh water bodies such as ponds pools lakes, etc. which maybe contaminated by sewage water. It generally forms dense water grooms. It is colonial form and the colonies are irregular. Each colony consists of a large number of densely packed small cells that are evenly distributed through out a common thin watery, gelatinous matrix. On mucilaginous matrix which is colourless and homogenous. The colony has many air space also called pseudo vacuoles or gas vacuoles which gives bouncy and allows the algae to float on the surface of water. The gas vacuole also helps in exchange of gases.

The cells are usually spherical. Each cell is typically cyanophychian with a central colourless incipient nucleus (centroplasm) and a peripheral highly pigmented chromoplasm. The chromoplasm contains phycocyanin (blue pigments), chlorophyll (green pigments) in large amounts and phycoerythrin (red pigments) in small amounts. The centroplasm consists of naked DNA without a nuclear membrane.

REPRODUCTION

It is by cell division of cells along the three planes. Sometimes a few cells may separate from the colony and develop into a new colony

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

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• Microsystis is known to cause to form water blooms and there for deprives the aquatic animals of the oxygen by preventing exchange of gas between the water and the atmosphere.

• It produces neurotoxin which causes nerve disorder in animals consuming water contaminated with microsystis. swimming in water with microsystis causes skin irritation and diseases
• Since microsystis grows abundantly in polluted water, it is used as a biological indicator for water pollution.

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