Bacteria Carsonella Ruddii Has Smallest Genome
Biosingularity (a great blog!) reports on research showing that the bacteria Carsonella ruddii has the fewest genes of any cell.
[tease]
The smallest collection of genes ever found for a cellular organism comes from tiny symbiotic bacteria that live inside special cells inside a small insect.
The bacteria’s newly sequenced genome, the complete set of DNA for the organism, is only one-third the size of the previously reported “smallest” cellular genome.
Note: The Biosingularity blog is written by a self-described Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at a medical school in the United States.