OSCILLATORIA

A cyanobacteria
Taxonomic Classification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Phylum: Cyanobacteria
Class: Cyanophyceae
Order: Oscillatoriales
Family: Oscillatoriaceae
Genus: Oscillatoria
Occurence
Found in wide range of habitats
Fresh water, damp places, ditches, and drains etc
Found as patches on mud surfaces
Abundantly found in moist places where organic
matter is present
Patches of entangled masses of filaments found on
the surface of fresh water
Body Structure
Thallus:
Thallus consist of free living trichome which has
distinct filamentous structure
Trichome consist of single row of cells
Filament is unbranched and gelatinous thin sheet
structure
All the cells are similar and cylindrical except the
apical one which is convex in shape
Septa are faintly visible and marked by row of
granules
Cell structure
All the cells are similar in structure

It does not contain well defined nucleus, mitochondria,

endoplasmic reticulum, plastids, and golgi bodies

It contains cell wall, nucleoplasm, pigments, reserved

food materials, and vacoules
Cell wall
Each cell has well developedd cell wall.

The cell wall is stable and consist of three layers;

inner thin cellular layer,
medium pectic layer,
and outer mucilage layer
Pigments
The pigments are found in flattened sac like structures
called lamella

Cells are blue in color due to the presence of blue

pigment phycocyanin along with other pigments like
chlorophyll, carotene, and phycoerythrin
Nucleoplasm
A well defined nucleus is absent

The nuclear material is distributed in the

cytoplasm

Nucleolus is also absent

Reserved food material & Vacoule
Reserved food is in the form of sugar and
glycogens and proteinaceous material is
Cyanophycin
Pseudovacoules are present in the cells of
oscillatoria
Movement and Growth
Slow, rythmic, but active movement has been
observered in trichome of Oscillatoria
The movement is jerky pendulum like termed as
Oscillatory movement
Growth is intercalary in trichome.
The growth is at right angled to the longitudinal
section of the oscillatoria
This type of growth results in increase of length of
trichome which is one cell wide only
The cell divides amitotically
Reproduction
The Oscillatoria reproduce vegetatively and only
method of reproduction is the formation of
hormogones
Fragmentation
The filament breaks into two or more
fragments and each fragment grows into new
plant body
The breaks take place where dead cells are
situated
Necridia
During the growing season the cell in trichome
collapse and the protoplast is changed into mucilage.
The mucilage filled dead cells are called necridia.
The dead cells loses its turgidity and pressure on
adjacent cell walls is reduced
The cells becomes convex and appears as biconcave
The cells are separated in the form of hormogones
from the dead cells
Economic Importance
Consumed as a food by fishes
Increase soil fertility
Fix atmospheric nitrogen
Cause of oxygen depletion in water and ultimately the
death of marine creatures
It also causes ashtma and blockage of nasal passage
It also serves as indicator of organic waste in water