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Tiny microbe challenges the definition of cellular life
A tiny microbe discovered by accident challenges the definition of cellular life
It turns out that these DNA chunks belong to some unusual archaea—a branch on the tree of life populated by single-celled microbes that can often survive in extreme environments. Using a database called the Tara Oceans project, they discovered a vast array of sequences that are comparable to that of Sukunaarchaeum, which they hypothesize could represent a new, deeply branching archaeal lineage. These giant viruses have evolved larger and more complex genomes that include some of the genes for DNA translation, a characteristic thought to be reserved for cellular life.
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