Living Beings
    Source-identified Nostoc commune; Documentary organism photograph; source identification retained. Framed for display
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    Nostoc commune star jelly.jpg · Resized and converted to WebP for display. Documentary organism photograph; source identification retained. Jiaminglimjm · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Field guide · species

    Nostoc commune

    Vaucher ex Bornet & Flahault, 1888

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    The authority credits the formal scientific description of the name. A year records publication of that description.

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    BacillatiCyanophyceaeNostocalesNostocaceae

    Nostoc commune is a terrestrial cyanobacterium that forms gelatinous colonies. Its striking ability to resume activity after drying makes it a useful organism for studying life under intermittent water supply.

    Public research profile · final editorial review pending.

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    Tree of lifeScientific lineage
    1. LifeLife
    2. DomainBacteria
    3. KingdomBacillati
    4. PhylumCyanobacteriota
    5. ClassCyanophyceae
    6. OrderNostocales
    7. FamilyNostocaceae
    8. GenusNostoc
    9. SpeciesNostoc commune
    Advanced classification

    Complete source lineage, including intermediate ranks. The standard view uses Life and the eight principal ranks.

    1. cellular organisms cellular root
    2. Bacteria domain
    3. Bacillati kingdom
    4. Cyanobacteriota/Melainabacteria group clade
    5. Cyanobacteriota phylum
    6. Cyanophyceae class
    7. Nostocales order
    8. Nostocaceae family
    9. Nostoc genus
    10. Nostoc commune species
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    Structure and identification

    The visible jelly-like mass is a colony containing many microscopic cells embedded in extracellular material. A colony is not a single large cell.

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    Habitat and range

    Terrestrial colonies can alternate between wet and desiccated states as local conditions change.

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    Nutrition and metabolism

    Photosynthesis captures light energy. Laboratory measurements track oxygen production as one sign that photosynthetic activity has recovered after rehydration.

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    Biological activity

    Dry colonies can become metabolically inactive and resume measurable activity when water returns. Recovery is not unlimited and depends on storage conditions.

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    Reproduction and life cycle

    The studied colonies persist through drying and rewetting rather than behaving like short-lived mushroom fruiting bodies.

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    Ecological role

    Intermittent hydration makes the species relevant to understanding photosynthetic communities on surfaces exposed to drying.

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    Distinctive adaptations

    Long-term storage experiments found better preservation under cold conditions than at room temperature. Such experimental survival should not be turned into a universal lifespan claim for every wild colony.

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    Evidence

    Sources

    Connected life

    No reviewed ecological connections in the collection yet.

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