Hold On. Are Midichlorians Just Bacteria?

Gosh there’s so much biology in this franchise.

In May, 1999, George Lucas took a surprising step forward in Star Wars biology.

This was likely unintentional.

Midichlorians, for anyone still out of the loop, are the fictional and microscopic “force giver” of the Star Wars canon. They are symbionts that live inside all human cells, and…well that’s really all we know, scientifically. Episode I shows us that midichlorians can be quickly and effortlessly measured from a blood sample, and that 20,000 seems to be a lot for a Jedi, but beyond those few points the biological mechanisms are left woefully incomplete.

As stated eloquently in Episode I:

“They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you’ll hear them speaking to you.” — Qui-Gon Jinn

I smell a green screen.

Or, as is immediately offered in response:

“I don’t understand.” — Young Anakin Skywalker

Great, so we’re all on the same page! But is it possible that the science behind midichlorians isn’t too complex…or at least not unprecedented. Some reading recently tipped me off to a type of symbiotic bacteria that might, maybe, lean in the same direction as the midichlorian mythos. They’re called chemolithoautotrophic gammaproteobacteria and they live, naturally, deep at the bottom of the ocean.

I reference deep sea vents a lot. They’re amazing.

In a paper from 2014, scientists in Newfoundland recorded characteristics of a symbiotic bacteria living inside mollusks that surround deep-sea hydrothermal vents — and yes I’ve written about these guys before. The symbiotic gammaproteobacteria that live inside the mollusk’s cells are magnetotactic, meaning that they can sense magnetic fields.

This is the type of science I was promised as a kid. Here’s an excerpt from the paper below, if you’re intrigued. Pardon the jargon.

Bacteria containing magnetosomes (protein-bound nanoparticles of magnetite or greigite) are common to many sedimentary habitats, but have never been found before to live within another organism. Here, we show that octahedral inclusions in the extracellular symbionts of the marine bivalve Thyasira cf. gouldi contain iron, can exhibit magnetic contrast and are most likely magnetosomes.

We’ve known about magnetic-sensing bacteria for a while (since 1975 actually), but for the first time in these mollusks, we’re finding them living symbiotically inside a host organism.

I’m also partial to the theory that a similar type of symbiosis is what aids with the complex migratory patterns in birds — a mystery that’s still unsolved to science.

wtf aspect ratio was this movie filmed in?

Hopefully the leap from magnetotaxis to midichlorians doesn’t seem too outrageous. This symbiotic bacteria possess a far superior sense of hidden forces in the world around us…why couldn’t midichlorians fall into the same camp? Plus, manipulating magnetic fields would certainly open the door to both telekinesis and lightning generation. Everything’s coming up microbes.

zappy zappy

But wait, there’s more!

In my research I stumbled upon a delightful truth: midichlorians actually do exist in biology. Of course, they were named after the Star Wars invention. In 2006, a lab in Milan, Italy, discovered a new type of bacteria that lives inside the mitochondrial organelles of ticks — a new depth of symbiosis never observed before. Being fans of Episode I, they chose to name the new discovery “midichloria” after the fictional symbiont.

So, yes, midichlorians are indeed bacteria. Technically.

And on the topic of the powerhouse of the cell, that reaches into a different theory: could midichlorians be related to mitochondria? Other than the lexical parallel, there have been a few notable similarities put forward by the reputable journal MemeBurn, and some do actually check out. Most significantly: a greater density of mitochondria in your cells allows for improved athletic performance. So, just like with the Force in Episode I, a blood test could theoretically “measure” a person’s innate athletic ability.

The most important lesson in high school biology.

It’s not a perfect correlation, though. Mitochondrial density can be changed with diet and training. Likewise, although some articles place emphasis on mitochondrial inheritance famously being passed down over generations (like the force) this is only relevant to mitochondrial DNA, not necessarily density.

So the comparisons are far from perfect, but that’s not really the point.

What’s cool is that we can learn something from Star Wars, even if it’s just a fleeting ounce of science fact. That’s still a win. George Lucas did this unintentionally, surely, by introducing a throwaway line of pseudoscience that I’m sure he expected to be ignored. But AHA! Scientists don’t like ignoring things. In the process of proving your ineptitude, George, you gave researchers the perfect opportunity to disseminate new points on science literacy. Joke’s on you.

And, hell, cellular biology isn’t the most sexy business out there. Any help it can get is greatly appreciated.