Thiomargarita magnifica is the name of the recent bacterium found in the mangroves of the Caribbean, which has a single cell that is 5,000 times longer than other microbes. The species’ cell was 2 centimeters long and visible to the naked eye, having a length similar to that of a peanut.
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“When it comes to bacteria I never say never, but this one is definitely raising what we thought was the upper limit. [de tamanho] in 10 times”said Verena Carvalho, a microbiologist at the University of Massachusetts in the United States.
The researcher believes that if the cell does not suffer damage, such as being carried away by waves or wind, it can grow even more.
In addition to its size, the fact that the genome is enclosed in a membrane also distinguishes it from other bacteria, in which it circulates freely within the cell, the scientists explain in the journal science. This characteristic is observed in complex cells, such as those present in the human body, which brings evidence of a missing link between the evolution of these cells.
When they analyzed the DNA present in the bacterium, the team discovered that the genome was “huge”and had “11 million bases with about 11,000 clearly distinguishable genes”. “Typically, bacterial genomes average around 4 million bases and close to 3900 genes.”they explain.
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