The Pleurocapsales are an order of coccooid
cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...
. Pleurocapsales are characterized by having boocytes, specialized cells where multiple fission takes place.
Their ecology is mainly endolytic and calcareous, they are found inside rocks and in low light conditions. Pleurocapsales were thought to be related to ''Chroococcidiopsis'' but recent work with phylogenetics of the 16S rDNA gene has shown that ''Chroococcidiopsis'' belongs to its own order Chroococcidiopsidales.
Some genera within Pleurocapsales form pseudo-ramifications such as ''Pleurocapsa'' sp., ''Odorella'' sp, and all the genera within the Hyellaceae family.
Historically, the order Pleurocapsales has been one of the least studied orders of cyanobacteria, due to its endolithic ecology making them difficult to observe.
Most recently, the order Pleurocapsales has been subsumed within the order
Chroococcales.
[https://lpsn.dsmz.de/order/pleurocapsales]
References
Bacteria orders
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