biostudies-literatureUnknown4Kothari AThe filamentous, non-heterocystous cyanobacterium Lyngbya aestuarii is an important contributor to marine intertidal microbial mats system worldwide. The recent isolate L. aestuarii BL J, is an unusually powerful hydrogen producer. Here we report a morphological, ultrastructural, and genomic characterization of this strain to set the basis for future systems studies and applications of this organism. The filaments contain circa 17 μm wide trichomes, composed of stacked disk-like short cells (2 μm long), encased in a prominent, laminated exopolysaccharide sheath. Cellular division occurs by transversal centripetal growth of cross-walls, where several rounds of division proceed simultaneously. Filament division occurs by cell self-immolation of one or groups of cells (necridial cells) at theFrontiers in microbiology363https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC3858816biostudies-literatureComparative genomic analyses of the cyanobacterium, Lyngbya aestuarii BL J, a powerful hydrogen producer.PMC3858816Vaughn MKothari AGarcia-Pichel FfalseComparative genomic analyses of the cyanobacterium, Lyngbya aestuarii BL J, a powerful hydrogen producer.The filamentous, non-heterocystous cyanobacterium Lyngbya aestuarii is an important contributor to marine intertidal microbial mats system worldwide. The recent isolate L. aestuarii BL J, is an unusually powerful hydrogen producer. Here we report a morphological, ultrastructural, and genomic characterization of this strain to set the basis for future systems studies and applications of this organism. The filaments contain circa 17 μm wide trichomes, composed of stacked disk-like short cells (2 μm long), encased in a prominent, laminated exopolysaccharide sheath. Cellular division occurs by transversal centripetal growth of cross-walls, where several rounds of division proceed simultaneously. Filament division occurs by cell self-immolation of one or groups of cells (necridial cells) at the2013-01-01T00:00:00Z20132026-05-07T06:36:29.709Z2019-03-27T01:18:18ZS-EPMC38588162437643810.3389/fmicb.2013.00363