HUGE Bacteria!!!

[DarkAnt]

I don't know if it has been brought up before, but while I was just making random searches on the net (when I should have been doing homework) I found this (http://www.mpg.de/english/illustrationsDocumentation/documentation/pressReleases/1999/news17_99.htm)

I was amazed. I kinda want some in a fish tank or something, kind of like having sea sea monkeys in you fish tank.

[Monique]

[8)] thanks for that info, that's amazing.. "Sulfur Pearl of Namibia" why would the bacterium want to be so large??

[iansmith]

Originally posted by Monique
why would the bacterium want to be so large??

I can a bacteria want something, it does think[6)] .

It is large due to its environment. This bacteria utilize sulfur as energy sourceand nitrate as the oxidizing agent. The bacterium is not motile therefore it needs to store some nitrate. Therefore it gets fats because of it sotres nitrate in its vacuoles.

[LURCH]

"Up to 3/4 of a mm"?![o)]
I'm gonna get a fly-swatter.

Could this increase in size (for the purpose of food-storage?) be a clue to the transition to multi-celular organisms?

[zoobyshoe]

Boy, that is one gull-dern BIG single cell organism!

I think it's cool that they eat sulfites.

[Evil]

juz a side track...can anyone here tell me more bout the sea monkey?
are they juz shrimps or what?

[Monique]

A side track indeed.. but since I've never heard of sea monkeys myself.. this website explains some of it:
http://www.sea-monkeys.com/html/aboutsm/whatarethey.html

Apparently they are a hybrid of a species of brine shrimp (a hybrid to make them bigger).