The thin white filament, about the size of a human eyelash, is “by far the largest bacterium known to date,” said Jean-Marie Volland, a marine biologist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and co-author of a paper in which the discovery was made.
Olivier Gros, co-author and biologist at the University of the French West Indies and Guyana, found the first specimen of this bacterium – called Thiomargarita magnifica, or “magnificent sulfur pearl” – clinging to submerged leaves in the Guadeloupe archipelago, in the Caribbean Sea, in 2009
The scientist did not immediately identify that this was a bacterium, due to its surprisingly large size, as these bacteria, on average, reach a length of 0.9 centimeters.
Only later genetic analyzes revealed that the organism was a single bacterial cell.
“It’s an incredible discovery. It opens up the question of how many of these giant bacteria there are in the world and reminds us not to underestimate bacteria,” said Petra Levin, a microbiologist at the University of Washington, who was not involved in the study.
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