Uabimicrobium

Uabimicrobium
Uabimicrobium amorphum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
(Candidatus)
Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: Pseudomonadati
Phylum: Planctomycetota
Class: "Ca. Uabimicrobiia"
Order: "Ca. Uabimicrobiales"
Family: "Ca. Uabimicrobiaceae"
Genus: "Ca. Uabimicrobium"
(Shiratori et al. 2019) Oren & Garrity 2021
Type species
"Ca. Uabimicrobium amorphum"
(Shiratori et al. 2019) Oren & Garrity 2021
Species
  • "Ca. Uabimicrobium amorphum"
  • "Ca. Uabimicrobium helgolandensis"

Candidatus Uabimicrobium is a genus of free-living aquatic Gram-negative bacteria that are known to display cell eating (phagocytosis). As of 2026, there are only two species. The first species, Ca. Uabimicrobium amorphum was discovered from the Republic of Palau. Collected in 2015 and described in 2019, it became the first known bacteria that can eat other microbes through phagocytosis.

The second species, Ca Uabimicrobium helgolandensis was discovered from Helgoland Island, North Sea, in 2024. These two bacteria with their ability to engulf and ingest (endocytosis) whole bacteria are taken as evidence of primary symbiogenesis that led to the formation of eukaryotic cells.

References

  1. ↑ Körner, Marco (2024-08-28). "Research team discovers 'impossible' unicellular organism". Phys.org. Archived from the original on 2025-11-28. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  2. ↑ Shiratori, Takashi; Suzuki, Shigekatsu; Kakizawa, Yukako; Ishida, Ken-ichiro (2019-12-11). "Phagocytosis-like cell engulfment by a planctomycete bacterium". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 5529. Bibcode:2019NatCo..10.5529S. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13499-2. PMC 6906331. PMID 31827088.
  3. ↑ Odelgard, Anna; Hägglund, Emil; Guy, Lionel; Andersson, Siv G E (2024-04-02). "Phylogeny and Expansion of Serine/Threonine Kinases in Phagocytotic Bacteria in the Phylum Planctomycetota". Genome Biology and Evolution. 16 (4) evae068. doi:10.1093/gbe/evae068. PMC 11032199. PMID 38547507.
  4. ↑ Wurzbacher, Carmen E.; Hammer, Jonathan; Haufschild, Tom; Wiegand, Sandra; Kallscheuer, Nicolai; Jogler, Christian (2024-08-27). ""Candidatus Uabimicrobium helgolandensis"—a planctomycetal bacterium with phagocytosis-like prey cell engulfment, surface-dependent motility, and cell division". mBio. 15 (10): e02044–24. doi:10.1128/mbio.02044-24. PMC 11481906. PMID 39189742.
  5. ↑ Speijer, Dave (2025-08-29). "Eukaryogenesis From FECA to LECA: Radical Steps Along the Way". BioEssays. 47 (11) e70063. doi:10.1002/bies.70063. ISSN 0265-9247. PMC 12550549. PMID 41024490.
  6. ↑ Thomson, Jess (2024-08-29). "Microbiologists Discover 'Impossible' Pac-Man Bacteria". Newsweek.