Cyanobacteria are a group of ecologically diverse photosynthetic bacteria. Because niche differentiation is ultimately the product of differences among individuals within populations, understanding the evolutionary origins of this diversity ultimately requires a population genetics perspective. Recent work has elucidated the mechanisms that generate variation in cyanobacteria, the distribution of this diversity and its potential functional importance, and has suggested a population genomics approach to address fundamental questions regarding the nature of adaptive variation and niche differentiation in Cyanobacteria. (Xu, 2010).

References:
Xu, J. (2010) Microbial Population Genetics. Caister Academic Press, Norfolk, UK.
Herrero, A. and Flores, E. (2008) The Cyanobacteria: Molecular Biology, Genomics and Evolution. Caister Academic Press, Norfolk, UK.

Labels: cyanobacteria, Photosynthetic bacteria, population genetics