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Micro World

How small is a pandoravirus?

A pandoravirus is about 1 µm long.

What is measured: giant virus, particle length

Pandoravirus (1 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), Pandoravirus (1 µm) and E. coli bacterium (2 µm).

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How big is that, really?

  • About 2 would fit end to end along an E. coli bacterium
  • About 7 would fit across a red blood cell
  • About 10× the width of a flu virus
  • About 40× the width of a ribosome

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Facts about Pandoravirus

Pandoravirus particles are larger than some bacteria and have genomes far bigger than typical viruses.

Source: Philippe et al. 2013, Science; Viral Zone: Pandoraviridae

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Pandoravirus
Lysosome500 nm0.5×
Mimivirus750 nm0.75×
Neisseria gonorrhoeae800 nm0.8×
Pandoravirus1 µmthis page
Synechococcus Cyanobacterium1 µmsame size
Nitrosomonas europaea Bacterium1.5 µm1.5×
Micrococcus luteus1.5 µm1.5×
Listeria monocytogenes2 µm2×
Campylobacter jejuni2 µm2×
Klebsiella pneumoniae2 µm2×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Pandoravirus or Neisseria gonorrhoeae?

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