By definition, microbes are supposed to be so small they can only be seen with a microscope. But a newly described bacterium living in Caribbean mangroves never got that memo (see video, above). Its threadlike single cell is visible to the naked eye, growing up to 2 centimeter - as long as a peanut - and 5000 times bigger than many other microbes. What's more, this giant has a huge genome that's not free floating inside the cell as in other bacteria, but is instead encased in a membrane, an innovation characteristic of much more complex cells, like those in the human body.
The bacterium was unveiled in a preprint posted online last week and it has astounded some researchers who have reviewed its features.
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The largest T. magnifica cell Volland found was 2 centimeters tall, but Carvalho thinks that if not trampled, eaten, blown by wind, or washed away by a wave, they could grow even bigger.