Nostoc commune: From "The Blob" to Crusty Black Stuff - | BYGL

Recent heavy rainfall across Ohio has been very beneficial to the cyanobacterium, Nostoc commune (NC). Of course, that's not the name that ... Skiptomaincontent OhioStatenavbar Skiptomaincontent TheOhioStateUniversity Help Map FindPeople Mainnavigation Search ShareThisArticle Useraccountmenu Nostoccommune:From"TheBlob"toCrustyBlackStuff Authors JoeBoggs Publishedon May23,2020 RecentheavyrainfallacrossOhiohasbeenverybeneficialtothecyanobacterium,Nostoccommune(NC). Ofcourse,that'snotthenamethatmostOhioanswillusetorefertothisancientorganism.   E-mailsandphonecallstohorticultureprofessionalsmaydescribeitasrubberyyellowish-greenorbluish-blackgrowthrisingfromthesoil;somemayjustdescribeitas"theblob." NCmayalsobedescribedas"blackcrustystuff"oncerainfallsubsidesandsunlightprevails,butmoreonthatlater.        IdentificationrequestscommonlyincludedescriptionsofimpactsfarbeyondthecapabilitiesofNCsuchaskillinglawns. ThiscyanobacteriumdoesnotkillturfgrassoranythingelseinOhiolandscapes. OpeningsinturfgrassarebeingcausedbysomethingelseandNCisjustaninnocentbystandertakingadvantageofanopeningtothesky.     IphotographedhydratedNCinsouthwestOhiothispastweek;however,thecoloniesarerapidlydryingoutwithincreasedsunlightanddecreasedrainfall. JimChatfieldpostedaBYGLAlertthispastTuesdaythatincludedapictureofhydratedNCinthenortheastpartofthestate(see: FernleafBeechtoNostoc,WeekendWonders,PartDeux). YoucanreadhisAlertbyclickingonthishotlink: https://bygl.osu.edu/index.php/node/1575     It'sNotanAlga! Cyanobacteriahavelongbeenmislabeledas"blue-greenalgae." That'sbecausetheyhaveslightlybluish-greenphotosyntheticpigmentsintheircytoplasm. Sincethebacteriaactlikeplantsbyproducingtheirown"food"(polysaccharides)andgeneratingoxygen,cyanobacteriawereoncelumpedinwiththealgae.   However,algae,aswellasotherplants(andanimals),areEukaryotes meaningtheirnucleiarewrappedinamembrane. Cyanobacterialackmembrane-boundnuclei;aconditionthatmakesthemaProkaryote.   Cyanobacteriahaveanumberofinterestingtricksuptheirprokaryoticsleeves. Theyaresingle-celledorganismsthatcanexistinmulticellularstateswithchainsofcellsstucktogetherwithinasheathtoformafilament. ThisallowsthecellstocommunicateandsharenutrientsoveralargeareawhichishowmanyNostocspeciesformlargemats.     Cyanobacteriahavespecializedcellscalledheterocyststhatcangrabnitrogenoutoftheatmosphereinaprocesscalled"nitrogenfixation"toconvertthenitrogenintomolecularformsthatmaketheelementavailableforthebacteriaaswellasplants.   Forthisreason,somecyanobacteriamaybefoundgrowingonthesurfacesofplants,includingcertainalgae,whichonceaddedtotheconfusionwithlearningthetrueidentityoftheseunusualbacteria. Some,suchasNC,alsohavespecializedpigmentsintheircellsthatabsorbUVlighttoprotectagainstUVradiation. Thisallowsthisbacteriumtosurviveintensesolarradiation.   Infact,Nostocspp.haveaworldwidedistributionandmaybefoundthrivingundersomeofthemostextremeenvironmentalconditions. Somebiologistsconsiderthemtobeatypeof"extremophile"whichisimportanttorememberwhenyou'retryingtoeliminatethem!     AnIDChallenge NCandothersinthisgenusofunusualorganismsareoftenmisidentifiedbecauseoftheirchangingappearance. Duringperiodsofwetweather,NCmaylooklikeanagglomerationofrubberyyellowish-greentobluish-blackmaterialis"bubbling-up"fromthesoil.     TheotherworldlyappearanceofhydratedNCisresponsibleforseveralcommonnames. Itwasoncebelievedthealien-lookingmassesoriginatedfromthedustofshootingstars(a.k.a.meteors)whichaccountsforthecommonnamesofstar-jelly,star-shot,andstar-slime. Othercommonnamessuchas"witch's-butter"areself-explanatory.      Duringperiodsofdryweather,theodd-lookingmassescollapseandturnblack;the"blackstuff"thatwillappearlaterthisseason. Infact,thisisthemostcommonappearanceofNostocspp.thatdoesnotenjoyirrigation. DehydratedNCistheformofthiscyanobacteriumthatismostcommonlyencounteredinlandscapes,nurseries,andevenindrainageditches.             Dryingoccursquickly;however,thiscausesnoharmtothecyanobacteria. It'sactuallyasurvivalstrategysupportedbyarangeofpolymersthatkeeptheoverallstructureintact.   ThebottomlineisthatNCandothermat-formingmembersofthisgenusarenottoxic;theycausenoharmtoplantsoranimalsincludingharmtothehealthofconcernedOhiolandowners. However,themucoidhydratedmatescanbecomeslipperywhenwet,sotreadcarefully.       AlmostOlderThanDirt Thereareanumberofevolutionaryconnectionsbetweencyanobacteriaandtheriseofplants. Biologistsgenerallyagreethatchloroplastsinplantshavetheirancestraloriginswithcyanobacteriathroughanevolutionaryprocesscalled"symbiogenesis." Withoutcyanobacteria,higherplantsasweknowthemwouldnotexist. Infact,neitherwouldwe.   Earthhasbeenaroundforabout4.55billionyears. Somebelieveourplanethasbeenaroundslightlylonger,butwhat'safewbillionmoreorlessamongfriends. TherewasnooxygeninEarth'searlyatmosphere;itwas"anaerobic." Thatdidn'tmeanlifedidn'texist,butitwaslife-formsthatevolvedandlived withoutoxygen. Someofthoseanaerobicmicrobesstillexist,butnotwherethey'reexposedtotheoxidizingeffectsofoxygen.   Thegeologicrecordintheformofbandsofrustinrocksshowsthatsomethingremarkablehappenedaround2.45billionyearsago. It'sreferredtoastheGreatOxygenationEvent(GOE)andmarksthebeginningofarapidchangeinEarth'satmospherefromanaerobictoaerobic.   GOEoccurredataboutthesametimethatcyanobacteriaappearedonthescenesoitwasoncebelievedthatthesebacteriawereentirelyresponsiblefortheriseofoxygen(literally). However,recentresearchhasshownthatothermicroorganismswerealreadyproducingsomeoxygenbeforethecyanobacteria. Regardless,it'sstillgenerallyacceptedthattheseremarkablebacterialoxygenpumpsplayedasignificantroleinpushingatmosphericoxygentowardsthecurrent21%thatweenjoytoday. So,youshouldthankcyanobacteriawithyournextbreath.     ManaginganAncient AlthoughNCisaremarkableorganismthatcausesnoharmandhasevenbeeninvestigatedforuseinlandreclamationsites,itandothercyanobacteriainthisgenuscangrowinlargematsthatpresentaslipperysafetyconcerninnurseriesandgreenhousewalk-ways. Blackened,dehydratedcoloniescancreateanunsightlymessonthebottomsofplantcontainers. Thesameistruewithcoloniesgrowingingraveldriveways.     Still,it'salmostimpossibletoeliminateanorganismthathassurvivednumerousmassextinctionsfromrampagingvolcanoestoadinosaur-killingmeteorstrike. Herearesomepointstoconsider.   Water: Nostocspp.areterrestrialorganismsthatcansurvivelongperiodslookinglikeblackened,dried-outmucus. However,theymusthaveperiodicalinfusionsofwatertothrive. So,moisturemanagementthroughimproveddrainageisessential. Thisincludesaddressingbothshallowaswellasdeepdrainageissues.     Forexample,driedNostocmatscanclogthedrainageholesingroundcoverandweedcontrolfabrics. UsingacoarsebristledpushbroomtoremovedriedNostoccanopenthedrainageholes;however,nothingwillbegainediftheunderlyingsoildoesnotdrainrapidly.   Fertilizer: AlthoughNostoccangenerateitsownfoodandgrabnitrogenfromtheatmosphere,itmustacquireothernutrientsfromitsenvironment. Infact,phosphorousisconsideredthemostlimitingnutrientinNostocdevelopment. Thishasalsobeenobservedwiththeaquaticcyanobacteriathatperiodicallyfoullakewaters;butdon’tcalltheproblem"algalblooms!" So,limitingphosphorousrunoffcanreducethedevelopmentofNostocmats.   Chemicals: AlgaecidessuchassodiumcarbonateperoxyhydrateandcoppersulfateproductsprovidelimitedtonocontrolofNostoc;it'snotanalga. Herbicidessuchasglyphosate(e.g.Roundup)notonlyprovidenocontrol(it'snotaplant),butthereleaseofphosphorusfromdeadplantscanactuallysupportNostocgrowth.   Herbicidalsoapproductsbasedonammoniatedsoapoffattyacidsorpotassiumsaltsoffattyacidscanprovidelimitedefficacy. However,trialsconductedbyOregonStateUniversity(theOtherOSU!)showedthatthemosteffectiveherbicidalproductisScythe(pelargonicacid). NotonlydidScythekillNostocbutitalsopreventedregrowthforseveralweeksandthisproductislabeledfortreatmentofalgae,moss,orliverwortsincontainernurseries. Ofcourse,hydratedNostocmustbetargeted,driedmatsarenotsusceptible. Also,thiscontactherbicidecandamageorkillpreferredplantssoavoiddirectcontactaswellasdrift.     IfYouCan'tBeat'em;Eat'em…withCaution BackinearlyApril,Iexchangedseverale-mailmessageswithJohnUlrichwholivesinFlowerMound,TX;possiblythebestnameforaU.S.townthatI'veeverheard. JohndescribedhisNCculinaryexperiencesthankstohisgirlfriendandhersisterwhoarefromChina. TheyharvestedandpreparedseveraldishesbasedonNC.         John'smessagesprovidedfirst-handinsightsintosomethingthat'softenincludedwithdescriptionsofthisfascinatingorganism: NCiscommonlyeateninmanyAsiancountriesincludingthePhilippines,Indonesia,Japan,andChina. IthankJohnforprovidinghisfirst-handaccountsandpictures.   PLEASENOTE: AlthoughNCisoneofthemostcommonNostocspeciesfoundintheU.S.,thereareothers. Aswithmushrooms,it'sstronglyrecommendedthatepicureanadventuristsseekthehelpofanexperiencedharvesterbeforeeatingNC. Ofcourse,it'salsoimportanttorelyonexpertadviceforNCpreparation!   Tags Nostoccommune OhioStateUniversityExtension websitecreatedbyinVPteamhvp.osu.edu © 2016,TheOhioStateUniversity SendCommentsto:[email protected]  Newsletter ReceiveyourBYGLthroughemail!VisitourNewsletterpageformoreinformation-SubscribeNow. 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