Publication: Polyphasic Approach and Cyanobacterial Taxonomy: Some Perspectives and Case Studies
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Ecophysiology and Biochemistry of Cyanobacteria
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Nature
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are oxygen-producing, photosynthesizing, gram-negative prokaryotes, which played a major role in the development of the atmosphere of the present earth. Despite being so old and omnipresent, it is surprising that proper and correct identification of cyanobacteria is still a challenge and has often created confusing patterns. The primary reason for all this confusion is the morphological plasticity of these organisms, which eventually creates confusion during long-term studies. This fact makes the study of cyanobacteria both challenging and interesting too. The taxonomy of cyanobacteria for a long time was based only on the morphological criterion, which, in the modern times, has raised many questions, which need to be answered by adopting an approach that respects both the classical morphology and the modern methods based on genetic information and phylogeny. The amalgamation of both the classical and the modern methods has led to the development of the polyphasic approach. Unfortunately, at the present moment what all constitutes a polyphasic approach is still under scrutiny, thus making the taxonomy of cyanobacteria complicated and challenging. Modern taxonomists must solve all the abovementioned problems by adopting an approach that reflects in a considerate way the morphology, ecology, and the molecular phylogeny. Unequal, biased preference or convenience-based methods are posing hindrances and thus lead to ambiguities that are tough to resolve. The future of cyanobacterial taxonomy may lie in the proper usage of the polyphasic approach with more revisionary works being anticipated. � The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
Description
Keywords
Calothrix, Cyanobacteria, Nostoc, Polyphasic approach, Systematics, Taxonomy