一个长达一厘米的细菌,其DNA包含在代谢活跃的膜结合器官中
Jean-Marie Volland1,2, Silvina Gonzalez-Rizzo3, Olivier Gros3,4
1Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
概括
巨大的细菌,Candidatus Thiomargarita magnifica, 挑战细菌细胞的大小限制. 这种肉眼可见的细菌表现出极端多体化和独特的细胞组织, 重新定义了细菌复杂性.
科学领域:
- 微生物学
- 细胞生物学
- 基因组学
背景情况:
- 细菌细胞通常大约2微米,极端的例子达到750微米.
- 细菌细胞大小的理论极限已经确立.
研究的目的:
- 描述一个异常大的细菌的形态,基因组和生命周期.
- 研究导致极端细菌细胞大小的因素.
主要方法:
- 光显微镜
- 射线显微镜
- 电子显微镜
- 基因组测序
主要成果:
- 标志着Candidatus Thiomargarita magnifica,平均长度超过9000微米,可以用肉眼看到.
- 观察到前所未有的多体化 (超过50万个基因组副本) 和大量的基因组.
- 记录了两形生命周期与不对称的染色体分离.
- 识别了膜结合器官内的遗传物质和核糖体的分离.
结论:
- 超出了理论上的细菌细胞大小限制.
- 这种细菌表现出复杂性的增加,挑战了细菌细胞的传统定义.
- 独特的特征表明细菌细胞发展的新进化途径.
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