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Micro World

How small is a Nitrosomonas europaea bacterium?

A Nitrosomonas europaea bacterium is about 1.5 µm long.

What is measured: soil ammonia-oxidizing bacterium, cell length

Nitrosomonas europaea Bacterium (1.5 µm) drawn to scale beside a flu virus (100 nm) and an E. coli bacterium (2 µm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Flu virus (100 nm), Nitrosomonas europaea Bacterium (1.5 µm) and E. coli bacterium (2 µm).

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How big is that, really?

  • A little shorter than an E. coli bacterium
  • About 5 would fit across a red blood cell
  • About 15× the width of a flu virus
  • About 60× the width of a ribosome

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Facts about Nitrosomonas europaea Bacterium

This bacterium converts ammonia to nitrite, playing a key role in the nitrogen cycle of soils and water.

Source: ATCC culture collection; Journal of Bacteriology

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Nitrosomonas europaea
Neisseria gonorrhoeae800 nm0.53×
Pandoravirus1 µm0.67×
Synechococcus Cyanobacterium1 µm0.67×
Nitrosomonas europaea Bacterium1.5 µmthis page
Micrococcus luteus1.5 µmsame size
Listeria monocytogenes2 µm1.3×
Campylobacter jejuni2 µm1.3×
Klebsiella pneumoniae2 µm1.3×
Deinococcus radiodurans2 µm1.3×
Shigella flexneri2.5 µm1.7×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Nitrosomonas europaea Bacterium or Listeria monocytogenes?

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