A DNA sequencing project was undertaken in 1999, which mapped the complete genome of Anabaena, which is 7.2 million base pairs long.

In return, nitrogen fixed in heterocysts moves into the vegetative cells, at least in part in the form of amino acids.

This has led to the plant being dubbed a "super-plant", as it can readily colonise areas of freshwater, and grow at great speed - doubling its biomass in as little as 1.9 days.

[3] The typical limiting factor on its growth is phosphorus, abundance of which, due to chemical runoff, often leads to Azolla blooms.

The process in which light changes the shape of molecules in the retina, thereby driving the cellular reactions and signals that cause vision in vertebrates, is studied in Anabaena.