Photosynthesis and Respiration of Cyanobacteria

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are among the very few groups that can perform oxygenic photosynthesis and respiration simultaneously in the same compartment, and some cyanobacterial species are able to fix nitrogen. This combination of metabolic pathways is unusual and this metabolic flexibility may be responsible for the evolutionary hardiness of the cyanobacteria and their ability to thrive under a wide range of conditions.