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Oscillatoria is a genus of filamentous cyanobacteria. It is often found in freshwater environments.[1] Its name refers to the oscillating motion of its filaments as they slide against each other to position the colony to face a light source.[2] Oscillatoria uses photosynthesis to survive and reproduce. Each filament of Oscillatoria consists of a row of cells called a trichome. The tip of the trichome oscillates like a pendulum.
| Oscillatoria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Oscillatoria princeps | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Cyanobacteria |
| Class: | Cyanophyceae |
| Order: | Oscillatoriales |
| Family: | Oscillatoriaceae |
| Genus: | Oscillatoria Vaucher ex Gomont, 1822 |
| Type species | |
| Oscillatoria princeps Vaucher ex Gomont | |
| Species | |
|
See list in body text | |
Oscillatoria filaments
Reproduction takes place asexually by fragmentation. Usually the filament breaks into a number of fragments called hormogonia. Each hormogonium consist of one or more cells and grows into a filament by cell division in one direction.[1]
As a result of recent genetic analyses, several new genera were erected from this genus, e.g. Tenebriella.[3]
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Oscillatoria are the subject of research into the natural production of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT),[4] an antioxidant, food additive, and industrial chemical.
Cyclic peptides called venturamides, which may have anti-malarial activity, have been isolated from bacteria in this genus. They are the first peptides with this activity to have been found in cyanobacteria.[5]
Serinolamide A is a cannabinoid structurally related to Anandamide that has been found to occur in Oscillatoria species.[6]
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Oscillatoria contains the following species:[7]
- Oscillatoria amoena (Kützing) Gomont
- Oscillatoria anguiformis (P. González Guerrero) Anagnostidis
- Oscillatoria anguina Bory ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria annae van Goor
- Oscillatoria bonnemaisonii (P. L. Crouan & H. M. Crouan) P. L. Crouan & H. M. Crouan ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria brevis Kützing ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria chalybea Mertens ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria chilkensis Biswas
- Oscillatoria crassa (Rao) Anagnostidis
- Oscillatoria croasdaleae Kamat
- Oscillatoria curviceps C. Agardh ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria depauperata (Copeland) Anagnostidis
- Oscillatoria engelmanniana Gaidukov
- Oscillatoria euboeica Anagnostidis
- Oscillatoria fischeri Corda ex Forti
- Oscillatoria fracta Carlson
- Oscillatoria froelichii Kützing ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria funiformis (Vouk) Komárek
- Oscillatoria indica P. C. Silva
- Oscillatoria jenensis G. Schmid
- Oscillatoria levis (Gardner) Anagnostidis
- Oscillatoria limosa C. Agardh ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria limnetica Lemmermann
- Oscillatoria mahabaleshwarensis Kamat
- Oscillatoria major Vaucher ex Hansgirg
- Oscillatoria margaritifera Kützing ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria miniata (Zanardini) Hauck ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria minutissima P. González
- Oscillatoria muralis (Dillwyn) C. Agardh
- Oscillatoria nitida Schkorbatov
- Oscillatoria nylstromica Claassen
- Oscillatoria obscura Brühl & Biswas
- Oscillatoria olivaceobrunnea L. Hoffmann & V. Demoulin
- Oscillatoria princeps Vaucher ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria proboscidea Gomont
- Oscillatoria pulchra Lindstedt
- Oscillatoria rhamphoidea Anagnostidis
- Oscillatoria ribeyi F. E. Drouet
- Oscillatoria rubescens De Candolle ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria sancta Kützing ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria subbrevis Schmidle
- Oscillatoria subcapitata Ponomarev
- Oscillatoria tapetiformis Zenker ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria tenioides (Bory de Saint-Vincent) Bory de Saint-Vincent ex Gomont
- Oscillatoria trichoides Szafer
- Oscillatoria versicolor G. Martens ex Prain
- Oscillatoria willei N. L. Gardner
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