Iranian Researchers Discover New Genus of Cyanobacteria

According to a report by the IBRC, the new Cyanobacteria, Khargia Iranica, was discovered by the IBRC researchers on Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf as one of Iran's most important islands in oil exports.

The research to discover cyanobacteria was carried out by the IBRC researchers in collaboration with the University of University of Tehran, Tehran-based Al-Zahra University and a researcher from the Czech Republic. The report further noted that the discovery showed the diversity of Cyanobacteria in the Persian Gulf region that has not been widely studied so far.

Cyanobacteria are widely distributed microorganisms and represent a fundamental part of most ecosystems, including soil and aquatic habitats. They can even live in extreme environments such as saline lakes, thermal springs with temperatures above 60 °C, glaciers, and areas with high natural radioactivity.

Khargia iranica has been discovered by methods including morphological comparison, phylogenetic analysis, and species analysis based on combined datasets from other related organisms, especially simple filamentous cyanobacteria, the report also said.

This new plant species is now stored and protected under the codname IBRC-M 5007 in the collection of the IBRC microorganisms bank in Tehran.

 The findings of the research have been published in the international journal Fottea, Olomouc.

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