Nostoc

Nostoc
Nostoc commune
Nostoc commune
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Cyanobacteria
Class: Cyanophyceae
Order: Nostocales
Family: Nostocaceae
Genus: Nostoc
Vaucher, 1888, ex Bornet and Flahaul
Species
List

Nostoc, also known as star jelly, troll's butter, spit of moon, fallen star, witch's butter (not to be confused with the fungi commonly known as witches' butter), and witch's jelly, is the most common genus of cyanobacteria found in a variety of both aquatic and terrestrial environments that may form colonies composed of filaments of moniliform cells in a gelatinous sheath of polysaccharides.[1] It may also grow symbiotically within the tissues of plants, providing nitrogen to its host through the action of terminally differentiated cells known as heterocysts. Nostoc is a genus that includes many species that are diverse in morphology, habitat distribution, and ecological function.[2] Nostoc can be found in soil, on moist rocks, at the bottom of lakes and springs, and rarely in marine habitats. It may also be found in terrestrial temperate, desert, tropical, or polar environments.[3]

The name Nostoc was coined by Paracelsus and is a combination of the English nostril and German Nasenloch "nose hole, nostril", likely due to appearance of many species colonies being similar to nasal mucus.[4] When it is on the ground, a Nostoc colony is ordinarily not seen, but after a rain, it swells up into a conspicuous, jellylike mass, which was once thought to have fallen from the sky, hence the popular names, like star jelly, troll's butter, and witch's butter mentioned above.

  1. ^ Fidor, Anna; Konkel, Robert; Mazur-Marzec, Hanna (2019-09-29). "Bioactive Peptides Produced by Cyanobacteria of the Genus Nostoc: A Review". Marine Drugs. 17 (10): 561. doi:10.3390/md17100561. ISSN 1660-3397. PMC 6835634. PMID 31569531.
  2. ^ Sand-Jensen, Kaj (July 2014). "Ecophysiology of gelatinous Nostoc colonies: unprecedented slow growth and survival in resource-poor and harsh environments". Annals of Botany. 114 (1): 17–33. doi:10.1093/aob/mcu085. ISSN 1095-8290. PMC 4071103. PMID 24966352.
  3. ^ "SS-AGR-431/AG430: Biology and Management of Nostoc (Cyanobacteria) in Nurseries and Greenhouses". edis.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  4. ^ Potts, M. (1997). "Etymology of the Genus Name Nostoc (Cyanobacteria)" (PDF). International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 47 (2): 584. doi:10.1099/00207713-47-2-584. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-08-11. Retrieved 2011-11-05.