Trichodesmium
Trichodesmium, or "sea sawdust", is a genus of filamentous cyanobacteria. They are found in nutrient-poor tropical and subtropical ocean waters.
| Trichodesmium | |
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| Trichodesmium bloom off the Great Barrier Reef | |
Scientific classification 
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| Unrecognized taxon (fix): | Trichodesmium |
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Trichodesmium contortum | |
They are most common around Australia and in the Red Sea, where they were first described by Captain Cook.
Trichodesmium is a diazotroph; that is, it fixes atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, a nutrient used by other organisms. Trichodesmium is thought to fix nitrogen on such a scale that it accounts for almost half of the nitrogen fixation in marine systems globally.[1][2]
Trichodesmium Media
Diagnostic Drawing: Simple filaments: Trichodesmium, Oscillatoriales, Cyanobacteria
Trichodesmium erythraeum bloom, between Vanuatu and New Caledonia, SW Pacific Ocean.
Examples of Trichodesmium colonies sorted into morphological classes(A) radial puffs, (B) non-radial puffs, (C) tufts. 
Colonies of marine cyanobacteria Trichodesmiuminteract with other bacteria to acquire iron from dust a. The N2-fixing Trichodesmium spp., which commonly occurs in tropical and sub-tropical waters, is of large environmental significance in fertilizing the ocean with important nutrients.b. Trichodesmium can establish massive blooms in nutrient poor ocean regions with high dust deposition, partly due to their unique ability to capture dust, center it, and subsequently dissolve it.c. Proposed dust-bound Fe acquisition pathway: Bacteria residing within the colonies produce siderophores (C-I) that react with the dust particles in the colony core and generate dissolved Fe (C-II). This dissolved Fe, complexed by siderophores, is then acquired by both Trichodesmium and its resident bacteria (C-III), resulting in a mutual benefit to both partners of the consortium.
References
- ↑ Bergman, B.; Sandh, G.; Lin, S.; Larsson, H.; Carpenter, E. J. (2012). "Trichodesmium – a widespread marine cyanobacterium with unusual nitrogen fixation properties". FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 37 (3): 1–17. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6976.2012.00352.x. PMC 3655545. PMID 22928644.
- ↑ Carpenter, E.J.; Capone, D.G.; Rueter, J.G., eds. (1991). Marine Pelagic Cyanobacteria: Trichodesmium and other diazothrophs. Dordrecht.: Kluwer Academic Publishers.