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Home / News / Technology News / Thiomargarita magnifica: What do we know about world's largest bacterium
Technology

Thiomargarita magnifica: What do we know about world's largest bacterium

Thiomargarita magnifica: What do we know about world's largest bacterium
Written by Dwaipayan Roy
Edited by Mudit Dube
Jun 26, 2022, 04:44 pm 3 min read
Thiomargarita magnifica: What do we know about world's largest bacterium
Thiomargarita magnifica is roughly 1cm in size (Photo credit: Tomas Tyml/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Bacteria are known for their microscopic sizes and now scientists have discovered one the size and shape of a human eyelash. It is called Thiomargarita magnifica and is described as "by far the largest bacterium known to date." It was found on sunken leaves in a Caribbean mangrove swamp and has not been grown in a lab yet.

Context
Why does this story matter?
  • The Thiomargarita magnifica is the biggest single-cell bacterium discovered to date and its internal composition is much more complex than other known bacteria.
  • The characteristics and features of the bacterium "indicate gain of complexity in the Thiomargarita lineage and challenge traditional concepts of bacterial cells," according to John-Marie Volland and Olivier Gros, the leading scientists behind the discovery.
Scale
The new bacterium is 5,000 times larger than the rest

Thiomargarita magnifica looks like a thin white filament and is nearly 1cm in size. It does not have key characteristics of the plant or animal cells and is roughly 5,000 times larger than most bacteria. The reason behind their stupendous growth is unknown. Also, unlike other filament-like bacteria found in mangroves which contain hundreds of cells, the magnifica's entire filament is just one cell.

Official words
Monster microbe akin to encountering human as big as Everest

Thiomargarita magnifica is "by far the largest bacteria known to date," says Volland of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems. "These bacteria are about 5,000 times larger than most bacteria. To put things into perspective, it is the equivalent for us humans to encounter another human who would be as tall as Mount Everest," he added.

Information
It secretes an antibiotic to drive away smaller relatives

Unlike most bacteria that reproduce by dividing into two identical cells, magnifica buds off a small piece at the tip, which floats away and creates a new being. Its surface also has a pristine appearance as it secretes an antibiotic to ward off smaller bacteria.

Mysterious microbe
The movement of genetic material is unlike other bacteria

Generally in other bacteria, genetic material floats freely inside the cell. But in Thiomargarita magnifica, which lives by oxidizing sulfur, things are different. Scientists saw that the genetic information was stored in hundreds of thousands of pepins, which are structures attached to the fluid-filled membrane. Each of these contains DNA and ribosomes, and the pepins collectively store up to 700,000 copies of the genome.

Quote
'We really should not underestimate evolution'

"We really shouldn't underestimate evolution, because we can't guess where it's going to go," said Petra Levin of Washington University. "I would not have guessed this thing exists, but now that I see it, I can see the logic in the evolution to this point."

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Dwaipayan Roy
Dwaipayan Roy
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Dwaipayan Roy covers tech and auto news for NewsBytes. He has previously worked with The New Indian Express and DIGIT. Over a career spanning nearly three years, his work focused on the latest product launches and in-depth coverage of changes in the auto and tech industries. He has a Master’s degree in Journalism & Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi.
Mudit Dube
Mudit Dube
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Mudit Dube is a technology and automobile editor at NewsBytes. He also manages the in-house news writing software, YANTRA. With an experience of nearly five years, his work focuses on daily news trends, explainers, reviews, and developing technologies. He has a postgraduate diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism and has previously worked with NewsX, a 24-hour english news channel.
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