摘要：Cyanobacteria are one of the earliest inhabitants of Earth and they contribute towards biogeochemicalcycles of Carbon and Nitrogen. Cyanobacteria have the capability of producingwide variety of bioactive compounds and these compounds have wide applications in variousfields of agriculture, biotechnology, pharmacology, etc. They also release exopolysacchridesand other compounds which possess antimicrobial and anticancerous properties. Cyanobacterianeeds minimal and unsophisticated growth conditions and the manipulations in their genomecan be done easily, thus making it a best choice for biotechnological applications. Many strainsof cyanobacteria produce commercially high-valued compounds like pigments, Vitamins, andenzymes.Cyanobacteria are potential bioremediation agents due to their capability of thriving in extremeconditions and metabolizing wide variety of compounds. Cyanobacteria are promising indegrading some peculiar pollutants and also removing heavy metals from the environment.Use of Cyanobacteria for the treatment of wastewater or sludge has been increased recently.Moreover, the developments in biophysical and genetic engineering techniques have made itpossible to amplify the production of desired molecules in cyanobacteria which can be usedfor industrial scale production. In this review, the applications of cyanobacteria as sources ofbioactive compounds for drug development and bioremediation applications were discussed.
