Abstract
Arguments based on the physical sizes of genomes indicate that autonomously replicating cells significantly smaller than those of Mycoplasma genitalium (radius: ∼0.15 μm; volume: ∼1 × 10−2 μm3) are unlikely to exist. Moreover, microorganisms having cell volumes in that range, or below, are certain to be parasites, as Mycoplasma genitalium is, because their genomes will necessarily be so small that they cannot include genes for more than a handful of the enzymes required for intermediary metabolism.
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Moore, P.B. (2011). How Small is Small?. In: Luisi, P., Stano, P. (eds) The Minimal Cell. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9944-0_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9944-0_4
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