SMALL is beautiful in more ways than one for the ocean-dwelling bacterium Pelagibacter. As well as being among the tiniest of all bacteria, it has now been identified as having the most streamlined genome so far found in a free-living organism.
It contains just 1354 genes scattered over 1.3 million DNA base pairs and is almost entirely devoid of 鈥渏unk鈥� DNA, according to researchers at Oregon State University in Corvallis (Science, vol 309, p 1242).
This streamlining could mean the bacterium needs less nitrogen and phosphorus to copy itself, allowing it to grow where nutrients are scarce. This may give it a competitive edge over less thrifty bacteria.
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