Researchers describe for the first timeone of the smallest bacteria in existence, Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The study could help scientists determine theminimal cellular machineryrequiredfor lifeand understand more complex organisms.
The research groups, led by Peer Bork, Anne-Claude Gavin and Luis Serrano, from the Center for Genomic Regulation (Barcelona), chose as a modelMycoplasma pneumoniae, the bacterium that causes atypical pneumonia in humans, because it is “complex enough to survive on its own, yet small and, in theory, simple enough to represent a tiny cell and allow global analysis.
Scientists have approached the bacteria that cause atypical pneumonia on three different levels. Part of the researchers described the transcriptome of the bacterium (they identified all theARN) in different environmental conditions. Another group defined all the metabolic reactions that occurred, while a third identified each multiprotein complex existing in the bacterium. “At all three levels we have found thatMycoplasma pneumoniae it is more complex than we expected “, detailed Luis Serrano, co-author of one of the three articles published today in the journal Science.
Another surprise is that “even having avery small genomethis bacteria isincredibly flexibleand she’s prepared to adjust her metabolism to drastic changes in environmental conditions. “
