At about 1cm long, Thiomargarita magnifica is roughly 50 times larger than all other known giant bacteria
Scientists have discovered the world’s largest known bacterium, which comes in the form of white filaments the size of human eyelashes, in a swamp in Guadeloupe., is roughly 50 times larger than all other known giant bacteria and the first to be visible with the naked eye. The thin white strands were discovered on the surfaces of decaying mangrove leaves in shallow tropical marine marshes.
“To put it into context, it would be like a human encountering another human as tall as Mount Everest,” said Jean-Marie Volland, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who co-authored the study.Photograph: Vollard et al. “When I saw them, I thought: strange,” said Gros. The lab first conducted microscopic analyses to establish that the strands were single cells. Closer inspection also revealed a strange internal structure. In most bacteria, the DNA floats around freely inside the cell.appears to keep its DNA more organised inside membrane-bound compartments throughout the cell. “And this is very unexpected for a bacterium,” said Volland.
Scientists are not yet sure how the bacteria evolved to be so big. One possibility is that it adapted to evade predation. “If you grow hundreds or thousands of times bigger than your predator you cannot be consumed by your predator,” said Volland.However, becoming big would have meant losing some of bacteria’s traditional advantages, including being uniquely able to move around and colonise new niches.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
African scientist criticises WHO for only now thinking monkeypox might be a crisisA leading African scientist says diseases 'only become an emergency when developed countries are affected', as a World Health Organization panel prepares to rule on the severity of the monkeypox outbreak.
Read more »
Fans, sprinklers and cold baths for cows: India’s dairy farmers face searing heatMilk and cheese output from world’s largest producer faces catastrophic decline unless more heat stress resistant cattle are bred
Read more »
New Zealand records largest ever bleaching of sea spongesResearchers say tens of millions of sponges may have been affected by protracted marine heatwave
Read more »
Scientists unveil bionic robo-fish to remove microplastics from seasTiny self-propelled robo-fish can swim around, latch on to free-floating microplastics and fix itself if it gets damaged
Read more »
Australia news live updates: NSW premier facing questions over Barilaro appointment; energy market set to restartAustralia news live: energy market set to restart; scientists urge halt to dam projects
Read more »