Mycoplasma genitalium has the smallest genome of any organism that can be grown in pure culture. (jcvi.org)
They live inside their host's cells and have highly specialized features: They are only able to reproduce inside the host's cells, they have the smallest known genome of all organisms with a cell nucleus (eukaryotes) and they posses no mitochondria of their own (the cell's power plant). (sciencedaily.com)
«With the ability to study the entire genome of an organism, biologists are confronted with the task of managing enormous amounts of data,» said Kevin Strange, Ph.D., MDI Biological Laboratory president. (mdibl.org)