Largest bacterium ever discovered is remarkably complex
A new bacterium discovered living in the Caribbean mangroves is about 5,000 times bigger than any other previously known microbe! The cells of this bacterium can grow into long threads up to 2 cm long.
This bacterium also stores its DNA in a separate compartment in the cell, something which was only thought to occur in the cells of ‘complex life’ such as animals.
As Chris Greening, a microbiologist at Monash University, said, “All too often, bacteria are thought of as small, simple, ‘unevolved’ life forms—so-called ‘bags of proteins’. But this bacterium shows this couldn’t be much further from the truth.”
- Pennisi, E., Largest bacterium ever discovered has an unexpectedly complex cell, science.org, 23 Feb 2022.
Readers’ comments
Comments are automatically closed 14 days after publication.