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World’s largest bacterium—In 1999 scientists discovered a previously unknown bacterium, which is large enough to be seen with the naked eye. Found off the coast of Namibia, the bacteria grow in long lines of single cells, each stuffed with reflective white globules of sulfur. The bacteria resembled a string of pearls to its discoverers, who named it Thiomargarita namibienus (“Sulfur pearl of Namibia”). The bacteria have evolved to live on seafloor sediments, where they find hydrogen sulfide for energy and nitrate for respiration. Their size is due to a large vacuole that fills the interior of their cells like inflated balloons. The vacuole stores nitrate, giving Thiomargarita the ability to survive periods when oxygen is lacking—a built-in equivalent of an oxygen-storing SCUBA tank that allows humans to remain alive underwater. [back]
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