ID the Microbe...
by Elio, Daniel, Roberto & Christoph
A bacterium, an archaeon, and a protist walk into a bar...
No, not this one again! To be honest, it was actually just Elio who walked into the bar, waving a transmission electron micrograph (TEM). "I spent hours with the electron microscopist, but could not come up with a satisfying answer," he said with a talmudic twinkle in his eyes. "Since you're all here anyway, you might as well help me, por favor, and identify this bug. Do you know its name?"
Figure 1. Elio's riddle: ID the Microbe!
"What a coincidence, Elio," said Daniel, "I had just come here hoping to find you, and a Jägermeister. Well no, not really a coincidence, I'm glad people stick to their habits! And, see, isn't my picture an exact match of yours? But I had hoped you, as a Microbial Hunting Master yourself, could help me with its name..."
And this was the picture Daniel had brought:
Figure 2. Daniel's riddle: ID the Microbe!
"Look, Daniel," interrupted Roberto, "I brought this one, and, believe me, it must be exactly the same bug as in your picture. Just with better resolution. You can see all the details! It's amazing what these electron microscopy people can achieve these days. Elio, is this the bug you have in your picture? Just compare... the name? Damn, I forgot to write it down on the back..."
Figure 3. Roberto's riddle: ID the Microbe!
"Hey! Just wait," exclaimed Roberto, "I've got another one here! With a name written on the back, Yeah! It's supposedly Neisseria gonorrhoeae, este bicho... But actually, I find it hard to see much difference from your picture, Elio. Do you?"
"Well," responded Elio, "I'm certainly a Fungus Hunting Master. But if any of us is a generalized Microbial Jägermeister, it would be Christoph. Oh and here is our German colleague now!"
Figure 4. Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Source
"Christoph no, put that back, please!" Roberto lamented.
"But why, Roberto?" asked Christoph. "As you probably know, it is carnival season these days in Germany, and that's a pretty darn serious thing! Other things not so much... And actually this porous lava rock that they call Scoria looks rather similar to your bugs, at first sight at least, right? "
Figure 5. Christoph's picture: Scoria. Source
Note. Now, a week later, we now solve the riddles. Figure 1. Measles virus (diameter ~200 nm). Source; Figure 2. Sulfolobus (cell diameter ~1 µm) Source; Figure 3. Sulfolobus solfataricus (collection Jankovic and Zillig). Source
