Scientists have discovered the largest bacterium ever discovered. Scientists have found bacteria in the marshy forests of the Caribbean, which are being called the Mount Everest of bacteria. Its size is as much as the hair of the eyelid. It can be seen with the naked eye, which makes it amazing, and scientists are hoping that it may give a new direction to human understanding of Earth’s oldest living thing.
The scientific name of this bacterium is Thiomargarita magnifica. Its special thing is not only its size, but its internal structure is also different from other bacteria. Usually the DNA in bacteria is floating inside the cells, but the DNA in thio has tiny membranes. Woland says that so far only two such bacteria were known, whose DNA resides within a membrane. According to research, Thiomargarita magnifica has also lost some genes over time, which are necessary for the division of cells.
The search for this bacterium has been going on since 2009. The study was jointly conducted by the US Department of Energy’s Genome Institute and the Laboratory of Research in Complex Systems. Marine biologist Jean-Marie Woland explains that Theo is a thousand times larger than a common bacterium. This research has been published in the prestigious journal Science. According to research, bacteria have been found in many places in the Caribbean Sea. It was first observed by a French microbiologist Oliver Grosse in the French island of Guadeloupe.
Gross, who teaches at Antilles University, says, ‘I found a white filament wrapped in a mangrove leaf submerged in the swamp. I found this filament very interesting, so I brought it to the lab. It was a great surprise to me to see such a huge bacterium in the mangroves of Guadeloupe. Some Thiomargaritas are even twice as long. “It’s much, much longer than our estimates of the maximum length of bacteria,” says Woland. They are as long as the hair on the eyelids.’ The longest known bacteria before Theo was 750 micrometers long.
Their life is wonderful. Bacteria are living unicellular organisms that are present everywhere on Earth. They are very important to the ecosystem and are considered to be the first living things on Earth. For billions of years they have existed with very simple structures. The human body often works in conjunction with bacteria. There are only a few bacteria that can make the body sick. By the way, scientists have also discovered a single-celled organism longer than Thiomargarita.
One is the seaweed, Calerpa taxifolia, which grows up to 15–30 cm tall. Woland says the discovery of this bacterium reveals how wonderful and interesting mysteries lie hidden in life on Earth that are waiting to be discovered. He said, ‘Life is wonderful. Very diverse and very complex. It is very important that we remain curious and keep an open mind. According to the study, the bacterium has a particularly pristine surface, devoid of bacteria living on the surface of plants and living animals. It was previously thought that bacteria could not grow to a size visible to the naked eye, but the discovered bacterium has an extended network of membranes that can produce energy so that it can absorb nutrients through its cell. Do not rely solely on the surface of the bacterium.