Team:IISc-Bangalore/Description
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Gas Vesicles: An Introduction
T--IISc-Bangalore--algal-bloom.jpgHave you ever seen an algal bloom — a riotous mass of cyanobacteria floating on the surface of eutrophic ponds and lakes? These cyanobacteria, like many other aquatic microorganisms, synthesize gas vesicles to help them float to the surface. Gas vesicles are hollow, gas-filled organelles that reduce the overall density of the cell and make it buoyant enough to float in water. The synthesis and degradation of gas vesicles can be controlled by the cell to adjust its buoyancy and hence change its vertical position in the water column — a useful trait when competing for sunlight to photosynthesize or when trying to find enough dissolved oxygen for respiration!
T--IISc-Bangalore--phylogenetic-tree.pngGas vesicles are found in a huge diversity of aquatic microorganisms, from green sulfur bacteria and cyanobacteria to methanogens and haloarchaea, indicating an ancient evolutionary lineage stretching back in time more than three billion years, when these two domains of life — bacteria and archaea — diverged from a common ancestor, in an age when life was confined to the oceans of the Earth.
