The ‘Mount Everest’ of Bacteria Discovered in Caribbean Swamps

The ‘Mount Everest’ of Bacteria Discovered in Caribbean Swamps
Filaments of the bacterium Thiomargarita magnifica from Guadeloupe, a French archipelago in the Caribbean, in an undated handout image. Jean-Marie Volland/U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/Handout via Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

WASHINGTON—The largest-known bacterium—a vermicelli-shaped organism that was discovered in shallow mangrove swamps in the Caribbean and is big enough to be seen with the naked eye—is redefining what is possible for bacteria, Earth’s most ancient life form.

Scientists said on Thursday the bacterium, called Thiomargarita magnifica, is noteworthy not merely for its size—colossal for a single-celled organism at up to about eight-tenths of an inch (2 cm) long—but also because its internal architecture is unlike other bacteria.