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Spirulina

Generic name: SPIRULINA Turpin ex Gomont, 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 249.
Synonyms: SPIRILLUM Hassall, 1845. Brit. Freshw. Alg., p. 279., SPIRULINOPSIS Bharadwaja, 1963. Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 57B(4): 248.[ SPIRULINA Turpin, Dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle de Levrault. 50, p. 309, pl., Oscillariees, fig.3, 1827. ex Gomont, 1892: Spirogyra, Spirulina, Oscillaria spec.]
{ Drouet, 1968; Spirulina Turpin [Dict. Sci. Nat. (Uvrault) 50: 309. 1827; Pl., part 2: Regne Organ., Bot., Acot., pl. 18. 1816-29] ex Gomont, Ann. Sci. Nat. VII. Bot. 16: 269. 1892. }
Diagnosis:
Gomont(1892): Trichomata exilia, in spiram plus minusve laxam aut plane densam contorta, apice constanter aequalia. Protoplasma homogeneum aut vix granulosum.
Type species: Spirulina maior Kützing ex Gomont 1892. - From more than 50 described species
(excl. Arthrospira), about 25 were well defined. [Drouet, 1968 -Type species: S. oscillarioides Turp.]
Descriptions:
Komárek (1992): Filamentous; filaments unbranched, always without sheaths, rarely solitary (free floating), usually in clusters or in fine mats which are up to macroscopicall visible and covering the substrate regularly screw- like coiled along the whole trichome length, with unchanged width of screws (very rarely is the spirality destroyed as anomalies); screws are very densely tight, touching one to another or with small spaces between them, trichomes:spirals width ratio being (2)-2.5-(4). Trichomes isopolar, 0.5-3(6?) um wide uniserial, compoused of cylindrical cells, unconstricted at the cross walls which are usually unvisible in light microscope, not attenuated towards the ends, intensely motile (rotation). Cells without aerotopes and prominent granules, more or less isodiametric, less (?) or longer than wide, usually with homogeneous content, pale blue-green, olive green or pinkish, with changeable PC: PE ratio, with asymmetrically localized thylakoids near the “outer” walls, with special perforation of
the side walls (cf. Guglielmi et Cohen-Bazire 1982; all species ?); end cells widely rounded, without thickened cell walls or calyptras. Heterocytes and akinetes absent.
Genotype differences, molecular data:
Reproduction strategies, life cycles, cell division:
Komárek (1992): Cell division crosswise, perpendicularly to the long axis of a trichome, daughter cells grow +/- up to the original size before the next division. All cells capable to-divide. Reproduction by fragmentation of trichomes into motile hormogonia without necridic
cells.
Ultrastructure:
Taxonomic position, higher hierarchy: Cyanophyceae,
Oscillatoriales, Pseudanabaenaceae, Pseudanabaenoideae
Notes to taxonomy, misinterpretations:
Ecology, ecophysiology, ecological significance:
Komárek (1992): Several species are benthic or grow in metaphyton of freshwater biotopes, usually in not heavy artificially polluted waters, in detritus among water plants. Several species prefer thermal and mineral springs, "Sulphuretum" - communities, or halophilic biotopes (marine coastal and brackish waters).
Gomont (1892):Plantae hydrophilae vel halophilae, in stratum continuum agglomerata aut inter varias Algas sparsa.
Physiology and biochemistry:
Distribution, endemism, problematic citations:
Reference strain:
Infrageneric scheme, species concept:
List of species:
Spirulina adriatica Hansgirg 1890
Spirulina bayannurensis Li et al. 2001
Spirulina condensata Welsh 1964
Spirulina corakiana Playfair 1914
Spirulina flavovirens Wislouch 1911
Spirulina gomontii Gutwinski 1902
Spirulina innatans Welsh 1961
Spirulina labyrinthiformis Kützing ex Gomont 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 255
Spirulina magnifica (Copeland) Anagnostidis 2001
Spirulina major Kützing ex Gomont 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 251
Spirulina meneghiniana Zanardini ex Gomont 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 250
Spirulina nordstedtii Gomont 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 252
Spirulina princeps W. et G.S.West 1902
Spirulina robusta Welsh 1965
Spirulina rosea Crouan ex Gomont 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 253
Spirulina spirulinoides (Ghose) Geitler 1925
Spirulina socialis Gardner 1932
Spirulina subsalsa Oersted ex Gomont 1892, Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 253
Spirulina subtilissima Kützing ex Gomont 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 252
Spirulina tenerrima Kützing ex Gomont 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 252
Spirulina tenuior (Lagerheim) Kirchner 1900
Spirulina versicolor Cohn ex Gomont 1892. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., ser. 7, 16: 253
Spirulina weissii Drouet 1942

Unclear taxa:
Halospirulina tapeticola Nübel et al. 2000
Spirulina caldaria Tilden 1898
Spirulina gessneri Schiller 1956
Spirulina major sensu auct. Setchel et Gardner 1919, Frémy 1936, Schiller 1954, Komárek 1989
Spirulina major sensu auct. Biswas 1926, Guarrera et al. 1968, Tiwari 1975, Bharati et Bongale 1975, Venkateswarlu 1976
Spirulina mariae Margalef 1953
Spirulina miniata Hauck 1878
Spirulina minima Wurtz 1947
Spirulina oscillarioides Turpin ex Gomont 1892
Spirulin princeps (W. et G.S. West) sensu G.M. Smith 1920
Spirulina pseudotenuissima Crouan et Crouan 1867
Spirulina schroederi Koppe 1924
Spirulina subsalsa sensu auct. Frémy 1936, Guarrera et al. 1972
Spirulina supersalsa Schiller 1956
Spirulina tenuis (Brühl et Biswas) Geitler 1925
Spirulina tenuissima f. chilensis Schwabe 1944
Spirulina thermalis Meneghini in Kützing ex Gomont 1892
Spirulina turfosa Crouan 1892
Spirulinopsis conica Bharadwaya 1963

Keys:
List of stains:
Drawings:
Komárek 1992
Application technology:
Literature:

  2.1 taxonomy: Gomont 1892, Anagnostidis & Golubić 1966, Holmgren et al. 1971, Guglielmi & Cohen-Bazire 1982, Anagnostidis & Komárek 1988, Komárek 1992
  2.2 cytomorphology:
  2.3 16S rRNA sequencing:
  2.4 biology and life cycles:
  2.5 ecology: