Aerobic nitrogen fixation byLyngbyasp., a marine tropical cyanobacterium

Lyngbya majuscula, a frond-forming, non-heterocystous cyanobacterium found in the sublittoral zone off Oahu, Hawaii, is capable of high rates of aerobic nitrogen fixation in the light but incapable of nitrogen fixation in the dark. L. majuscula differs therefore from heterocystous Calothrix spp., which are found in the same habitat and are capable of N2 fixation in the dark.