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Occurrence of
endosymbiont Richelia intracellularis (Cyanophyta)
within the diatom Rhizosolenia hebetata in the Northern
Arabian Sea
K. B. Padmakumar1*,
N. R. Menon2 and V. N. Sanjeevan1
1Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology, Ministry of Earth
Sciences, Kochi-37, Kerala, India.
2School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and
Technology, Kochi-16, Kerala, India.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
kbpadmakumar@gmail.com. Tel: +91-9847255972.
Fax: +91-484 2421888.
Accepted 4 January, 2010 |
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The presence of diazotrophic cyanobacterium
Richelia intracellularis Schmidt as an endosymbiont of
Rhizosolenia hebetata was observed in the
phytoplankton samples collected from the Northern Arabian
Sea during the fag end of winter monsoon (February - March).
R. hebetata formed 80% Rhizosolenia population
and 60% of this species harboured endosymbiotic
cyanobacterium R. intracellularis. This is an
indication that Richelia-Rhizosolenia interaction
could have a significant influence on nutrient and energy
budgets of the Northern Arabian Sea.
Key words:
Rhizosolenia, diatom, Richelia intracellularis,
cyanobacteria, Northern Arabian Sea. |
