cyanobacteria

3 definitions found

cyanobacteria - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  cyanobacterium \cyanobacterium\ pl. cyanobacteria
  \cyanobacteria\ [from the pigment phycocyanin.]
     any of a group of photosynthetic autotrophic prokaryotic
     microorganisms possessing characteristics of both bacteria
     and plants. When classed as bacteria, they are assigned to
     the Cyanobacteria; when classed as plants, they are assigned
     to the Cyanophyta. They were earlier named blue-green algae
     , a term less used now in technical discussions. Since
     the chlorophyll within the cyanobacteria is diffused
     throughout the cell, rather than being contained in
     chloroplasts, they are no longer thought of as true plants.
     [PJC]

  blue-green alga \blue"-green al"ga\ pl. blue"-green al"gae
     [from the color and resemblance to algae.]
     any of a group of photosynthetic microorganisms possessing
     characteristics of both bacteria and plants. When classed as
     bacteria, they are assigned to the Cyanobacteria; when
     classed as plants, they are assigned to the Cyanophyta. They
     are now known to be prokaryotic, and are usually called
     cyanobacteria in technical contexts. See cyanobacterium.
     [PJC]

cyanobacteria - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  cyanobacteria
      n 1: predominantly photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms
           containing a blue pigment in addition to chlorophyll; occur
           singly or in colonies in diverse habitats; important as
           phytoplankton [syn: cyanobacteria, blue-green algae]