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Stigonema (Cyanophyceae)

Stigonema mammilosum attached to granite glacial erratic rocks in oligotrophic Bigsby Lake, Essex County, NY USA. The terminal branch cell is evident, as is the lateral division of subterminal cells that create multiseriate trichomes.

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Red pigment on this section of S. mammilosa provides protection from ultraviolet light.

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Typical multiseriate trichomes of S. mammilosa.

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Multiseriate trichome

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Lower magnification of the true branching S. mammilosa (x100).

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Terminal axial cell divides at least twice before trichome becomes multiseriate

 

Stigonema mammilosumfrom Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
True branching in S. mammilosa.

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Younger branches have less "sun shade" red pigment than older branch

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Less "sun shade" in this part of the S. mammilosa trichome.

 

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Single terminal cell is evident on this branch of S. mammilosa.

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
Is this an akinete (spore) at the terminus of the short branch?

 

Stigonema mammilosum from Bigsby Lake, Schroon Lake NY USA
True branches. Extracellular matrix (sheath?) contains "sun block" orange and red pigments.

 

Stigonema sp. from a river in northern New Hampshire, USA.
Branches showing perpendicular division of cells (true branches). Photo by Jonathan Dufresne, University of New Hampshire, Durham USA

 

Stigonema sp. from a river in northern New Hampshire, USA.
Multiple cells occupying the width of the central filament can be observed (multiseriate filament).
Photo by Jonathan Dufresne, University of New Hampshire, Durham USA

 

Stigonema mamillosum branch apex, from Mt. Desert Island, Acadia National Park, ME USA
Sketch by Sybil Lee (1927)

Lee, Sybel  1927.  Cytological study of Stigonema mammilosum.  Botanical Gazetter 83(4):420-424.

 

Stigonema mamillosa from Mt. Desert Island, Acadia National Park, ME USA
Sketch by Sybil Lee (1927) who interpreted the series of images from 8 - 20 as amitotic nuclear division.

Lee, Sybel  1927.  Cytological study of Stigonema mammilosum.  Botanical Gazetter 83(4):420-424.

 

Stigonema sp. illustrating multiseriate filament
Photograph by © Jason Oydomari, Keweenaw Peninsula, MI USA

 

Stigonema sp. illustrating uniseriate branching filament, and apparent pit connections (plasmodesmata) between at least 6 cells in the upper left of the image.
Collected and identified by © Keith Williams in Little Sebago Lake, ME USA (N 43.8784 W 70.4256), in shallow water among detrital material above a clean substrate. Each reticule ‘tick’ on the scale = 2.5 μm;  e.g. the distance from 0 to 1 = 25 μm, so the main filament in this image is ~32 – 33 μm wide.

 

Stigonema sp. from Japan
Photograph by © 'Nekko No Shippo' posted online

 

Stigonema ocellatum
Photograph at The Biome,
A Database of Plant Biodiversity of West Bengal, posted online

 

Stigonema minutum
Modified from sketch by Ohtani and Kanda (1987) from the collection of Manfred Bölter, University of Kiel, DE

Ohtani, S. and H. Kanda  1987.  Epiphytic algae on the moss community of Grimmia lawinia around Syowa Station, Antarctica. Proc NIPR Symp Polar Biol 1: 255-264

 

 

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