Biology Forum › Microbiology › Identification of a bacterium.
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- February 14, 2012 at 4:34 am #16078
Layd33foxxParticipantIn 1985, a 0.5-mm cell was discovered in surgeonfish and named
Epulopiscium fishelsoni. It was presumed
to be a protozoan. In 1993, researchers determined that
Epulopiscium was actually a gram-positive bacterium.Why do you
suppose this organism was initially identified as a protozoan?
What evidence would change the classification to bacterium?I don’t know would it be the shape and whether it shows up to be gram positive in a test?
- February 14, 2012 at 5:08 am #109623WntScientistParticipant
Probably because it
1. Is gigantic for a bacterial cell.
2. Has strange morphological features, like invaginations, vesicles, and tubules.
3. Reproduces strangely.It was found to be bacterial after rRNA sequencing.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v3 … 239a0.html
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