Extreme polyploidy in a large bacterium.

ABSTRACT: Cells rely on diffusion to move metabolites and biomolecules. Diffusion is highly efficient but only over short distances. Although eukaryotic cells have broken free of diffusion-dictated constraints on cell size, most bacteria and archaea are forced to remain small. Exceptions to this rule are found among the bacterial symbionts of surgeonfish; Epulopiscium spp. are cigar-shaped cells that reach lengths in excess of 600 mum. A large Epulopiscium contains thousands of times more DNA than a bacterium such as Escherichia coli, but the composition of this DNA is not well understood. Here, we present evidence that Epulopiscium contains tens of thousands of copies of its genome. Using quantitative, single-cell PCR assays targeting single-copy genes, we have determined that copy number is positi

SUBMITTER: Mendell JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2373351 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature