Talk:Nostoc

N. Commune is supposed to be bioluminescent. I'll try to back that up somewhere else to. Remind me if I forget, or can someone else do some reasearch on that if they get a chance? Thanks - Taxman Talk 20:20, July 18, 2005 (UTC)

This article presents Nostoc as the answer to Star Jelly. How does it supposedly get up in the air to begin with? The article should be changed to present it as a hypothesis or expand on the vertical movement.

From Nostoc commune var. sphaeroides
Numerous medical studies in the past decade or so revealed that Nostoc contains a broad spectrum of biologically active compounds and phytochemicals that exert far-reaching nutraceutical and pharmacological effects, ranging from lowering cholesterol level, improving digestive efficiency, anti-inflammatory responses  , anti-viral activities , Einhibiting tumor/cancer growth , and possible anti-HIV activity. These compounds include polysaccharides, dietary fibers, proteins and essential amino acids, poly-unsaturated fatty acids, and phycobiliproteins.

This information is general to Nostoc but was placed in a variety or subspecies article. It can be put in this article.

--Blechnic (talk) 06:32, 2 April 2008 (UTC)


 * But there is a problem with determining the "correct" current name. Is this still considered a variety of the species Nostoc commune, or is it considered a species in its own right as Nostoc sphaeroides?  The Nostoc page currently lists it as a separate species, but the article is named as if it is only a variety.  I don't have good resources on current bacterial nomenclature. --EncycloPetey (talk) 18:03, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * It's a bacterium. As a cyanobacteria there is probably no consensus on the name within the bacterial nomenclature, but there may be a consensus for its name in the plant nomenclature.  I don't bother with plant nomenclature for prokaryotic names, though.  The research is too fast right now to rely upon the codes.  I check algaebase.com which is not a good source for prokaryotes, but has spp. sphaeroides.   I found two peer-reviewed current journal article with this species/variety.  The 2008 is less reliable--as a nutrition journal--but it lists it as a variety.  The 2007 is an engineering journal and uses the species.  I included the first as a source on the Nostoc commune var. sphaeroides article to justify that article's name.  I'm not sure and it doesn't matter to me.  Someone wrote it as a variety, and I found one source sufficient to justify that name, and nothing sufficient to deny that name.  Should this be discussed there not here?  --Blechnic (talk) 20:45, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Usual procedure would discuss the issue at the affected page. However, starting the discussion here is more likely to attract useful comments. --EncycloPetey (talk) 01:30, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe it will also attract someone who can improve this sadly short article on an extensively researched species. Bacterial nomenclature is problematic, nobody has good resources on it, because there are none.  There are databases, the one I use for viral pathogens also lists bacteria, I think.  They're not necessarily accurate or current because bacterial nomenclature is not rigid like botanical (even for the species that are in the botanical codes) or animal nomenclature.  My thought was I couldn't find anything to confirm with authority that it should be the species, rather than the subspecies, so I bothered not to change someone else's choice.  I think too much time could be spent trying to fix something that can't be fixed.  It would be better to pool resources and get editors working on this article.--Blechnic (talk) 06:39, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Economic Importance
Nostoc colony are rich in nitrogenous substances and hence are used as food in China and Brazi.Nostoc colonies increase nitrogen contents of the soil and are often used as a fertilizer,to increase the crop productivity,such as in rice.Nostoc is capable of fixing nitrogen and grows very rapidly.Nostoc is used,because of these properties,in reclamation of usuar(alkaline and saline) and barren soil. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.169.54.151 (talk) 14:39, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

Reproduction
Nostoc reproduces vegetatively and asexually.sexual reproduction is absent.All the filaments of the colony reproduce simultaneously. Vegetative Reproduction Nostoc reproduces vegetatively by fragmentation.The large old colonies break into a number of small fragments owing to external mechanical forces.Each fragment develops into a new colony. Asexual Reproduction Nostoc reproduces asexually by the formation of hormogones,akinetes and heterocyts. Homogones They are small segments of the trichome consisting of a few cells.They seperate in the region of heterocyst because of the poor link of the heterocyst with the vegetative cells.Hormogones are formed due to the mechanical disturbances or due to the death and decay of vegetative cells.Hormogones is surrounded by its own mucilage sheath.Hormogones may develop within the colony or come out of the colony to form a new colony.Hormogones secrete mucilagenous sheath and develop heterocyst either at one end or both ends.The cells divide vegetatively forming new filaments. Akinetes(Arthrospores) These are the resting spores,formed in few species of nostoc,in unfavorable conditions.They are thick walled and slightly bigger than the vegetative cells.They store large amounts of food material.The shape of the akinete may differ.They are formed singly or in chains.On the return of the favorable condition,they germinate to form new colonies. Heterocyts They are generally vestigeal organs.But in a few species of nostoc the heterocyts functions as reproductive organ.Protoplast of the heterocyts divides forming small hormogones.The wall of the heterocyts generally breaks at the polar region liberating the hormogones.The hormogones develop intoa new filament,which later on forms a new colony.Heterocyts,at times forms a number of endospores.These are small,rounded and with or without a thick wall. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.169.54.151 (talk) 15:17, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

AlgaeBase
There's a handy database of all the algae species available online at http://www.algaebase.org/

Maybe worth including this as a link, possibly in the references. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shtanto (talk • contribs) 00:12, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Where do samples come from?
Might be a bit off-topic, but I have to ask. How would a scientist go about getting his/her hands on some Nostoc e.g. Nostoc Ellipsosporum? Can you get it via online mail order? How do people come by specimens for the lab? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shtanto (talk • contribs) 00:15, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Nostoc. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20071122003910/http://www.thestandard.com.hk:80/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=37176&sid=11956724&con_type=1 to http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=37176&sid=11956724&con_type=1

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 08:36, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

Fossil range?
This taxon is missing a fossil range--does anyone know when this started cropping up in the fossil record, or is this unknown? Entelognathus (talk) 16:24, 15 April 2021 (UTC)