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Cyanobacteria as potential options for environmental sustainability — promises and challenges

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Abstract

Cyanobacteria represent an ancient group of photosynthetic prokaryotes, whose ubiquity, metabolic flexibility and adaptive abilities have made them a subject of research worldwide. These structurally simple organisms combine in themselves interesting facets of plant and bacterial metabolism, which is amenable to genetic exploitation. Despite their globally recognized significance in the sustenance of fertility in rice based cropping systems, they have not been tapped for their extraordinary repertoire of activities, especially their beneficial role as biological agents in remediation and amelioration of soil and water environment and as sinks for greenhouse gases. The information available on these aspects and future lines of research for more efficient utilization of these microorganisms is presented.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Microbiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110 012, India

    Radha Prasanna & Pranita Jaiswal

  2. Division of Biotechnology, Netaji Subash Institute of Technology, New Delhi, 110 078, India

    B. D. Kaushik

Authors
  1. Radha Prasanna
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  2. Pranita Jaiswal
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  3. B. D. Kaushik
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Correspondence to Radha Prasanna.

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Prasanna, R., Jaiswal, P. & Kaushik, B.D. Cyanobacteria as potential options for environmental sustainability — promises and challenges. Indian J Microbiol 48, 89–94 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-008-0009-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-008-0009-2

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