Largest Type of Bacteria Visible to the Naked Eye Discovered

Bacteria, you know, have many varieties and are found in almost every environment. While research on bacteria continues to surprise us all, new bacterial species continue to be discovered. In fact, although its name has a bad connotation, bacteria actually help us in many areas. E.g; The bacteria-filled lake in Costa Rica gives us information about Mars, or the bacteria that continue to live in the concrete play a big role in beating concrete cancer.

We get help from bacteria in our daily life, such as making milk into yogurt or making it easier to digest. Of course, although some bacteria help in the treatment of diseases, others can cause diseases. One thing all bacteria had in common was that they were invisible to the naked eye. According to a new study, a new species of these single-celled creatures that we can only see under a microscope, ‘visible to the naked eye’, has been discovered.

Almost the size of a peanut

This bacterial species, discovered in the Caribbean mangroves, aroused excitement and curiosity in the scientific world. Many scientists know that this discovery is about the sizes that bacteria can reach. that it upset told. Olivier Gros, a marine biologist working at the University of the Antilles, saw a thread-like object on the decaying leaves of Caribbean mangroves, and he knew exactly what he compared to this thread was a type of bacteria. He realized it 5 years later. According to the article published in BioRxiv, bacteria, 5000 times larger than most bacteria and almost the size of a peanut.

This bacterium, on which research was conducted, surprised scientists not only with its size, but also with its structure. Bacteria are similar to complex cells found in the human body. It has a giant membrane-enclosed genome. The bacterium, which looked like a thread when viewed from the outside, was observed to have a curved appearance like a caterpillar or worm when examined under a microscope.

Scientists divide living things into eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Prokaryotes include bacteria and protozoa called archaea, while eukaryotes host many other living species, including humans. The DNA of prokaryotes travels freely, while the DNA of eukaryotes is contained within a nucleus. This newly discovered bacterium has caused scientists to rethink the definitions of eukaryote and prokaryote. Bacteria that cannot be placed in either of the two living species are different from a normal bacterium. It contains 3 times more genes.

Marine Biologist Jean-Marrie Volland shared a 3D video of the bacterium on his Twitter account.

Other images of the bacteria are as follows: