The latest issue of the " Science " magazine in the United States published a surprising discovery: scientists discovered a huge bacteria that can be up to 2 centimeters in length and is visible to the naked eye. This bacteria subverts the world's common sense about traditional bacteria and is amazing.
Bacteria are the largest group of living things in general, and they are everywhere. However, because they are generally only a few microns long, they are generally not visible without a microscope. However, scientists discovered a huge bacterium in a mangrove forest on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, visible to the naked eye and shaped like eyelashes.
The bacterium, called Thiomargarita magnifica, is about 1 centimeter long and can grow up to 2 centimeters in the research laboratory. What is surprising is that scientists discovered that bacteria actually have a nucleus similar to that found in eukaryotic cells, which contains the cell's DNA. Generally, bacteria do not have nuclei and , and genetic material can float freely in the bacterial body.
This bacterium can use sulfur compounds and oxygen in the surrounding water to produce sugar, and it can also use carbon dioxide to make food. The researchers pointed out that the size of the bacteria increased and they could obtain sulfur compounds and oxygen . However, since microorganisms such as bacteria can generally only absorb nutrients through diffusion, the larger the cell, the slower the nutrients are transported throughout the cell. How the internal operation of a 1 cm giant bacterium remains a mystery.
Tanja Woyke, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), said that this giant bacteria or related species may exist in mangroves around the world: We know very little about the microbial world. The
research report pointed out that the prejudice against virus size once hindered humans from discovering the existence of giant viruses. The discovery of Thiomargarita magnifica has once again overturned human understanding of microorganisms. In 2014, scientists discovered a wide-mouthed jar virus that was 1.5 microns long and as big as bacteria in a 30,000-year-old frozen soil. Voick added: Just because we haven't seen it yet, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
