Epulopiscium fishelsoni is a bacterium measuring up to600 mm long by 80 mm wide. Found in the intestines of surgeonfishthat live in and around coral reefs of the Pacific Ocean, E.fishelsoni was first thought to be a protist. DNA analysislater showed that E. fishelsoni belonged in thegram-positive cell lineage. E. fishelsoni does not have asmooth outer membrane; it is wrinkled with many invaginations(pockets) and folds. What size range do most bacterial and archaealcells fall into? Please hypothesize (i) what problem(s)related to size must be solved by this bacterium, (ii) howit might solve the problem, (iii) how this solution isdifferent from that of another macroscopic bacterium,Thiomargarita namibiensis, and (iv) how bothsolutions are different from that reached over evolutionary time byeukaryotic cells.
Epulopiscium fishelsoni is a bacterium measuring up to600 mm long by 80 mm wide. Found in the intestines of surgeonfishthat live in and around coral reefs of the Pacific Ocean, E.fishelsoni was first thought to be a protist. DNA analysislater showed that E. fishelsoni belonged in thegram-positive cell lineage. E. fishelsoni does not have asmooth outer membrane; it is wrinkled with many invaginations(pockets) and folds. What size range do most bacterial and archaealcells fall into? Please hypothesize (i) what problem(s)related to size must be solved by this bacterium, (ii) howit might solve the problem, (iii) how this solution isdifferent from that of another macroscopic bacterium,Thiomargarita namibiensis, and (iv) how bothsolutions are different from that reached over evolutionary time byeukaryotic cells.
