| King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals |
| Department of Chemistry and Biology |
| Joint |
| Speaker | Professor Stjepko Golubic Department of Biology Boston University, USA |
| Title | Morphological and Molecular Approaches to Study Cyanobacteria |
| Abstract | Cyanobacteria, once also called "Blue-green algae" have been for years treated as an unusual group of microorganisms, marginalized by phycologists and bacteriologists alike. Although their prokaryotic nature has been known for much more than a century (Cohn, 1875), their characterization and classification still remains unsettled. With the rise of Molecular biology and the use of DNA sequencing, the Cyanobacteria have gained new insights as well as much of the recognition they deserve. They are today recognized as the single, monophyletic origin of oxygenic photosynthesis, now credited for the oxygenation of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere and indirectly, through endosymbiosis events for the bulk of planetary primary production. Their ecological importance continues in today's environments, including those exposed to extreme conditions, natural of anthropogenic like the impact of pollution and other causes of environmental stress. Unlike most bacteria, cyanobacteria have achieved a remarkable degree of structural and functional complexity, so that they can be identified by phenotypic as well as genotypic characteristics. We discuss here the new approaches to study cyanobacterial diversity in nature by applying interdisciplinary "polyphasic" ways and by assessing the relation between culture-dependent and culture-independent study techniques. |
Day Date
Time | Wednesday May 7, 2014 11:00 AM |
| Place | Building 4 - 125 |
| | There will be a get-together with Refreshments between10:45-11:00 am in B4 - 125 Courtesy: SAICSC-ACS |
| ALL ARE CORDIALLY INVITED |
| Dr. Mohammad Nahid Siddiqui, Chair, Seminars and Social Activities Committee |
