Discovered the largest bacteria in the world the size of a human eyelash - VN Intelligence

Specifically, with a length of about 1 cm, Thiomargarita magnifica is 50 times larger than known bacteria and is also the first bacteria that can be seen with the naked eye.

This thin, white filamentous bacterium is found on the surface of rotting mangrove leaves in the shallow marshes of tropical seas.

The finding is of interest because, according to the cell metabolism model, the bacteria would not be as large as mentioned above. Previously, scientists assumed that the maximum size of the bacteria would be 100 times smaller than that of Thiomargarita magnifica.

"To put it plainly, it's as if one person encounters another as tall as Mount Everest," said Jean-Marie Volland, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a co-author of the study. .

The new bacterium was discovered by Olivier Gros, a professor of marine biology at the University of the Antilles in France in Guadeloupe, while searching for symbiotic bacteria in the mangrove ecosystem.

Laboratory analysis indicates that these fibers are single-celled and have an unusual internal structure. Most bacteria have free-floating DNA inside the cell, but Thiomargarita magnifica stores DNA throughout the cell in compartments covered by a membrane.

In addition, Thiomargarita magnifica contains three times as many genes as most bacteria and hundreds of thousands of copies of the genome and this gives it an unusually complex structure.

Scientists have not yet given a definite answer as to why this bacterium can be so large. One theory is that Thiomargarita magnifica adapted to avoid falling prey. However, the large size also makes bacteria lose some of the usual advantages such as being able to move freely and survive in niche environments.