Smallest Living Cell Gets Its Genome Sequenced
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Scientists have sequenced the genome of the smallest-known living cell -- a microbe dwelling in hot, deep sea vents.
Nanoarchaeum equitans was discovered when researchers examining a larger vent bacterium spotted spheres stuck on its surface -- a tiny, unknown bacterium.
The genetic report, to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, reveals that Nanoarchaeum lacks the ability to make many nutrients, such as lipids and amino acids. The authors concluded that it is probably a parasite, sucking nutrients from the larger bacterium it lives on.
