**2. Characterization of cyanobacteria**

 Cyanobacteria are distinguished from most other microalgae by their lack of a cell nucleus and other cell organelles. They lack chloroplasts and have instead simple thylakoids, which are the location of the light-dependent processes necessary for

 **Figure 1.**  *Cyanobacterial cell structure.* 

### *Perspective Chapter: Cyanobacteria – A Futuristic Effective Tool in Sustainable Agriculture DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109829*

photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria exhibit a variety of traits that can be utilized for microscopic analysis and identification, including the size and form of the cells, the presence of subcellular structures, and the presence of specialized cells. Flagella, which are present in many other bacterial or phytoplankton taxa, are absent in cyanobacteria. However, many cyanobacteria, especially filamentous varieties, exhibit gliding movement. Cyanobacteria have not been shown to reproduce sexually. The division of vegetative cells is their unique asexual method of reproduction. Cyanobacterial cells can be spherical, cylindrical, barrel-shaped, ellipsoid, conical, or disc-shaped. The critical abiotic parameters that determine the success of cyanobacterial growth are light, pH, temperature, water, CO 2, and nutrient supplements [ 9 , 12 ].
