Scientists discovered the largest bacterium known to man in a shallow mangrove swamp in the Caribbean. The discovery is redefining the possibilities of one of the ancient life forms on the planet. Called
Thiomargarita magnifica, the bacteria is noteworthy for both its size and internal architecture.
The thin white filament, approximately the size of a human eyelash, is "by far the largest bacterium known to date," said Jean-Marie Volland, a marine biologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and co-author of a paper announcing the discovery Thursday in the journal Science.
A normal
bacterial species measures 1-5 micrometers long. This species averages 10,000 micrometers (four-tenths of an inch/1 cm) long, with some Thiomargarita magnifica twice that length. The largest known bacterium until now had a maximum length of around 750 micrometers.
"It is thousands of times larger than regular-sized bacteria. Discovering this bacterium is like encountering a human being as tall as Mount Everest," stated Volland.
"It is orders of magnitude bigger than what we thought was the maximum possible size for a single bacterium. They are about the same size and shape of an eyelash," added Volland.
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