The bacteria, shown here next to a coin, are roughly the size of a human eyelash.
Tomas Tyml / Chancellor of the University of California, LBNL
hide captions
switch captions
Tomas Tyml / Chancellor of the University of California, LBNL
The bacteria, shown here next to a coin, are roughly the size of a human eyelash.
Tomas Tyml / Chancellor of the University of California, LBNL
Bacteria normally live their microscopic lives in the microscopic world, but now scientists have found a giant species the size and shape of a human eyelash.
The new discovery is “the largest known bacteria to date”, says Jean-Marie Volland of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Complex Systems Research Laboratory. “These bacteria are about 5,000 times larger than most bacteria.”
“To see things in perspective, we humans have to encounter another human being as tall as Mount Everest,” he added.
In a way, this nearly 1-centimeter giant clings to itself on sunken leaves in a Caribbean mangrove swamp, according to one report in the magazine Science.
The scientist who initially collected the thin white filaments did not know that he had discovered a new type of bacteria that could be seen with the naked eye.
But a laboratory examination revealed they did not have the key features of plant or animal cells, and a genetic analysis soon revealed their true nature. They are related to other bacteria that also live on sulfur and grow large – but not as large.
The new bacteria, named Thiomargarita exaggeratedwas discovered on sunken leaves in a mangrove swamp in the Caribbean.
Olivier Gros / Rector of the University of California, LBNL
hide captions
switch captions
Olivier Gros / Rector of the University of California, LBNL
New bacteria, named Thiomargarita exaggeratedwas discovered on sunken leaves in a mangrove swamp in the Caribbean.
Olivier Gros / Rector of the University of California, LBNL
Calling Thiomargarita exaggeratedthese bacteria have yet to be grown in a lab, so much about their lifestyle remains a mystery – including the benefits they get in the aquatic environment when they grow to their size. such surprise.
In addition to challenging old ideas about the maximum possible size, each of these bacteria organizes its internals in an unusually advanced way.
Instead of allowing genetic material to float freely like other bacteria, these organisms wrap it up and store it in a kind of packaging. This is similar to what is done in more complex cell types, like those that make up plants and animals.
This does not mean that these bacteria are some sort of “missing link” between simpler and more complex life forms, Volland cautions, saying it’s just a “fascinating example of a bacterium.” evolved to a higher level of complexity.”
However, finding these bacteria inside, along with their incredible size, makes this “a truly amazing find,” according to the report. Thijs Ettemaa microbiologist at Wageningen University & Research, who was not part of this research group.
“Researchers have identified a veritable ‘microbiological monster’,” Ettema said in an email. “Their work highlights that the microbial world continues to amaze us!”
These bacteria cannot even be called bacteria precisely, because bacteria are by definition microscopic, indicating Petra Anne Levin of Washington University in St Louis, who wrote a comment accompanied by a new report.
Furthermore, while most bacteria reproduce by dividing into two identical cells, these long, thread-like organisms seem to reproduce by budding off a small piece at the tip, which can then drift away and go on to create an entirely new entity.
And although these organisms are so large that hundreds of thousands of smaller bacteria can fit on their outer surfaces, the researchers found that these surfaces look pristine, suggesting that these bacteria This can secrete some antibiotics to ward off smaller relatives.
The discovery of this bacterium “has really opened our eyes to the unexplored microbial diversity that exists”, Shailesh Ngày Day of the University of California, San Francisco, and the Complex Systems Research Laboratory. “We’re really just scratching the surface, and who knows what interesting things we haven’t discovered yet.”
