Читать книгу Algorithms in Bioinformatics - Paul A. Gagniuc - Страница 36

On the other hand, prokaryotes from Mycoplasma species show some of the smallest possible dimensions for life (∼100 species). For instance, bacteria Mycoplasma gallicepticum and Mycoplasma genitalium are likely two of the smallest self-replicating forms of life, with a diameter of ∼0.0002 mm (0.2 μm or 200 nm) [86, 87]. This small size is 2 up to four times smaller than the wavelength of a photon of light from the visible spectrum (700–400 nm). However, the largest species of bacterium found among prokaryotes are Thiomargarita namibiensis and Epulopiscium fishelsoni (between 0.5 and 0.7 mm), which are comparable in size to some unicellular eukaryotes [88, 89].