Scientists have discovered new bacterial cells. What makes their discovery fascinating is that the bacteria are so large that they can be easily seen with the naked eye. It is the largest bacterium ever observed, at less than a centimeter. The researchers write this in the famous professional journal Sciences†
Bacteria are very small, even microscopic: you can only see unicellular organisms with the help of a microscope. At least, that’s what they thought. In 2009, a team of microbiologists discovered a new bacterium – Thiomargarita magnifica (giant sulfur pearl) – in the 1-centimeter-wide mangrove forests of Guadalupe, the size of an eyelash. These bacteria are thousands of times larger than their congeners.
This turns the world of bacteria upside down. “It’s like meeting another person the size of Mount Everest,” said Jean-Marie Foland, a microbiologist at the Joint Genome Institute in Berkeley, California.
complication
Because bacteria are not very complex – they are made up of a single cell and do not contain a nucleus – researchers have long believed that bacteria should remain small. Scientists believe that more complexity is necessary to get bigger. This distinguishes prokaryotes (all prokaryotes bacteria) from eukaryotes (fungi, for example).
The new bacterium Thiomargarita magnifica still has no nucleus, but can reach two centimeters in size. Bacteria grow in length, mainly the cell wall. Inside the bacterium there are also various sections in which the DNA material is packaged. In addition, bacteria possess much more genetic material than most other bacteria. This massive stock of DNA likely ensures that the bacteria grow larger. However, this hypothesis has not been proven by further research.
Presumably there are other bacteria at least as large as Thiomargarita magnifica: “We don’t know exactly how big yet, but this one really gave us a preconceived notion.”
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