Bacteria up to 2 cm in size were discovered in Guadeloupe

By definition, microbes can be observed… under a microscope. But you always need exceptions to confirm the rule and bacteria Thiomargarita magnifica It is a very big exception. This bacterium discovered in Guadeloupe is simply the largest known to date: it has the peculiarity of being visible to the naked eye! “To give you an idea of ​​what this represents in terms of the difference in size compared to other bacteria, it’s a bit like a human-to-human crossing as high as Mount Everest.”explains Jean-Marie Foland, a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (California) who co-authored the publication dedicated to: T. Magnifica Published in the magazine Science . Aside from their unusual size, bacteria also revealed a unique internal structure that opens up new horizons in the world of bacteriology.

To reach these discoveries, the road was particularly long. “It all started in 2009 when I noticed…