A typical bloom-forming unicellular cyanobacterium with gas vacuoles, which accumulates in the surface of lakes and reservoirs. Some strains produce hepatotoxins known as microcystins. Whole genome sequences were determined by the collaborative research group of Kazusa DNA Research Institute, University of Tsukuba and National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) in 2007.
The genome of
M. aeruginosa is a single, circular chromosome of ca. 6 Mbp, comprising 6,325 protein-encoding genes. The microcystin synthase gene cluster
(
mcyA-J) was also found. Transposons amount to ca. 12% of the entire genome, whereas the number of genes for histidine kinases and response regulators is small.
CyanoBase