Bacteria are responsible for millions of vital processes hidden from our everyday perception. These single-celled organisms are essential to our ecosystem and a massive driving force behind all life on this planet.
Above: Clostridium bacteria
C. perfringens is omnipresent in nature as a normal component of decaying vegetation, marine sediment, intestinal tract of humans and other vertebrates, insects, and soil. It has the shortest known generation time at 6.3 minutes in thioglycolate or anaerobic medium
Abundance and Diversity of Bacteria
To truly appreciate the immense influence of bacteria, it’s important to understand their sheer abundance and diversity. Estimates suggest that there are around 5 nonillion (5 followed by 30 zeros) bacterial cells on Earth.
They thrive in almost every environment, even in places impossible for human or animal life. From the deep oceans to Arctic ice, in the air, soil, water these micro-organisms dwell.
Powerful microbes regulate processes in the human body. Everyone is familiar with the health of the oft-touted "gut bacteria". Unflavored yogurt, also created by bacteria, often helps stomach upset.
Bacteria show remarkable adaptability and a wide range of metabolic capabilities. They're integral to various biological processes such as rust, decomposition of matter and creation of life.
They're even active in mental health. Gastro-intestinal tract bacteria produce, interact with and contribute to compounds including neurotransmitters like serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), influential in regulating mood and emotion.
Serotonin, the "happy hormone," is primarily produced in the gut and influences mood, sleep and appetite. Specialized bacteria colonize the digestive tract shortly after a person's birth.
They create the neurotransmitter serotonin to educate other gut immune cells. This prevents allergic reactions to food and the bacteria themselves during early development.
Many bacteria thrive in warmth. Aspergillus, Bacillus, Candida, Cyberlindnera, Debaryomyces, Eurotium, Klebsiella, Lactobacillus, and Lactococcus are included in dark tea processing, oxidation and production of functional components.
Curing of tea leaves is brought about by controlled activity of bacteria. The bacteria used in curing tea is Bacillus megaterium. Curing involves drying of tea leaves and loss of the green color. Black tea is oxidized but not fermented.
Plant pathogenic bacteria induce as many kinds of symptoms on the plants they infect as do fungi. They cause leaf spots and blights, soft rots of fruits, roots, and storage organs, wilts, overgrowths, scabs, and cankers.
Bacteria fight bacteria. Beneficial microorganisms like bacteria and fungi contain diverse natural compounds to combat plant diseases at different stages. In inhibiting plant pathogens, the bacteria generate natural compounds like secondary metabolites.
Without action of these unseen workers there would be no cheese, beer or many other food and beverage products. Dead bodies would pile up on earth. Without bacteria to fix nitrogen and perform other processes, plants wither and carbon cannot be formed.
Bacteria break down biological waste. In their theoretical absence it quickly builds up. In dead organisms bacteria help return valuable nutrients back to the system. Most species would experience a massive drop in population or go extinct without bacterial processes.
Carbon is the predominant element in bacteria. Bacteria need carbon to synthesize molecules like fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids.
They can use inorganic sources like carbon dioxide, and organic sources like sugars and alcohols for carbon needs. It's also essential for bacteria to produce carbon molecules, such as fats, carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids.
Bacteria often have a dual nature, like those causing plant blight. In controlled conditions the same bacteria are crucial to making xanthan gum, used in food, art and medicine. Bacteria are prolific producers, protectors, creators and destroyers.
Foundation of Food Webs
Bacteria occupy a critical position in the food chain. They are crucial to nutrient cycling, breaking down organic matter and recycling essential elements like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus back into the environment.
This decomposition process not only cleans up dead matter but also provides nutrients essential tor plants, the primary producers in most ecosystems. In this way, bacteria serve as the foundation of food webs, ensuring that life continues to flourish.
Bacteria known as decomposers break down organic matter and recycle nutrients back into the environment, or synthetize new products. Bacteria are indispensable to sustaining life on our planet.
Symbiosis: Partners in Life
Bacteria exist together with larger organisms for billions of years in symbiotic relationships to enhance survival. In humans, trillions of bacteria inhabit the body, aiding in digestion, synthesizing vitamins, and influencing immune responses.
They contribute to health and functioning of complex organisms. They also cause pain and death. For example, before the late 1800s European hospitals are houses of death, where even a simple surgery can give rise to deadly bacteria thriving in wounds.
Wounds are not cleaned or property treated, leading to gangrene, blood poisoning and death. While ancient Greek physicians value cleanliness, in Victorian times doctors often wear aprons caked with dried blood and tissue.
The healthiest thing about European hospitals are the maggots in the beds eating away dead flesh. After the invention of antiseptic by Joseph Lister in 1865, hospital staff are amazed at the dramatic increase in the survival rate of patients.
In addition to clearing out dead tissue, maggots disinfect wounds by eating harmful bacteria and secreting bacteria-killing molecules. They can also eat through biofilm, a slimy mix of micro-organisms found on chronic wounds. Biofilm protects the bacteria beneath.
The evolutionary success of bacteria is in the ability to adapt and innovate. Through processes like horizontal gene transfer, bacteria can rapidly acquire new traits, allowing them to survive in changing environments and develop resistance to antibiotics.
Bacteria are important to climate regulation. Certain bacteria are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, while others help fix carbon in soil, making them crucial to the global carbon cycle. Bacteria cause sulfur smell in water by creating hydrogen sulfide as a byproduct.
Hydrogen sulfide is generated in the environment through the bacterial decomposition of deceased plant and animal material in oxygen-deprived conditions. It can be found in raw natural gas, petroleum, volcanic emissions, sulfur reserves, geothermal springs, and marshes.
Some bacteria produce antibiotics, drugs, and vaccines. Vital vitamins and nutrients can be synthesized using bacteria. Most of the many probiotic bacterial strains belong to species Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.
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