We visually observed a green, filamentous microorganism with cell differentiation that was photosynthetic, and nitrogen-fixing.  As such, we did prove our hypothesis by enriching for a nitrogen-fixing, photosynthetic cyanobacteria.  However, we were not successful in isolating our organism due to the slow growth of the organism and our time restraints for this project.  Had we more time, we would have streaked for isolation on cyanobacteria solid media.  Our observations were consistent with our expectation as we hoped to isolate filamentous cyanobacteria, although we did not expect to find the contamination of diatoms and other symbionts.
    We did not anticipate the length of time that the cyanobacteria would need to grow or the low concentration present in stream water.  As such, we recommend running multiple liquid samples and plates at the same time (and of various samples) in order to increase chances of growth.  In order to increase the sample concentration, we allowed the sample to grow in cyanobacteria liquid media for a week before plating it onto cyanobacteria plates.  This method proved successfully in promoting growth.  We attempted to speed the growth the process by plating samples onto TSA plates, but this proved to be both unnecessary and unsuccessful.
    We first confirmed the presence of our organism through green colony growth on our cyanobacteria plates.  The cyanobacteria plates lacked both a nitrogen source and a carbon source, meaning that anything that grew would either need to be a nitrogen-fixing, photosynthetic microorganism, or a symbiont with such microorganisms.  We then examined the colonies under the microscope and observed filamentous bacteria.  Further extensive microscopy allowed us to identify the cyanobacteria as Anabaena, through comparing what we observed through the microscope to a microbiology textbook with pictures of common filamentous cyanobacteria.  Additionally, we noted that the filaments were not branched and did not have sheaths, which are characteristics of Anabaena.  Also, we observed cell differentiation, another clue that we had isolated a nitrogen-fixing organism.  A Gram stain revealed that the cells were Gram negative, which is consistent with the description of cyanobacteria in Bergey’s Manual.
Anabaena is found at the foundation of aquatic ecosystems.  Through nitrogen fixation, it converts otherwise unusable atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, providing a nitrogen source for itself and other organisms in aquatic environments.  Anabaena and other plants can grow using the fixed nitrogen.  Through photosynthesis, they and other plants convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into sugars.  It is upon these processes that marine ecosystems are founded.  Since the entire ecosystem depends on Anabaena and similar organisms, understanding Anabaena contributes to our understanding of ecosystems.
    Cyanobacteria are extremely interesting because they can survive given only air, sunlight, and a moist environment to live in.  The really interesting thing about some cyanobacteria is that they can almost be considered multicellular organisms, because some cells undergo cell-differentiation.  Cells exist in colonies of long straight or branching chains, called filaments or trichomes.  Nitrogen-fixation is only possible in an anaerobic environment, as such some cells specialize to create these environments and fix nitrogen for the whole colony.  These cells are called heterocysts.  The other cells continue to photosynthesize, providing the specialized cells with a carbon source.  Among these cells, there are junctures where the cytoplasms can mix so that nutrients can be carried into the specialized cells and fixed nitrogen can be carried out.  This is similar to how plant cells are joined by plasmodesmata.  Together, they can grow in almost any environment with air and light, and as such are found in a wide range of environments.  Additionally, cyanobacteria exhibit great diversity, ranging from unicellular to multicellular, from sheets of cells to chains of cells.
    As the basis of the food chain, being able to look at Anabaena’s growth rates and understanding its nitrogen-fixing ability gives us a sheds light on the foundation of aquatic ecosystems around the world.  Additionally, these cyanobacteria could hypothetically be used to rehabilitate failing aquatic ecosystems.  An important characteristic of Anabaena is that it can bloom.  Most varieties are just a nuisance, but some can be toxic, making proper identification important.  Also, information gained about the nitrogen-fixation pathways could be abstracted to agriculture in order to improve plant growth, create plants that can fix nitrogen, or develop better fertilizers.
    Additionally, research is being conducted in using cyanobacteria as a food source.  In fact, it already makes up a part of diets in some areas of Africa, where it provides sugars, vitamins, and other nutrients.  Cyanobacteria could be an ideal food source because they can be grown on practically nothing and filamentous strains could easily be harvested through straining.  Cyanobacteria could also hypothetically be used to clean water sources and as production systems for a variety of natural products.  Current research is also looking at cloning genes into cyanobacteria that would provide pesticide control against mosquitoes.  The development of a step-by-step protocol will allow researchers working with this organism in the future to enrich for and isolate cyanobacteria efficiently.