14/09/2018
Why I love Microbiology and microbes!
>Microbes first appeared on earth about 3.5 billion years ago. They
are critically important in sustaining life on our planet.
>Microbes outnumber all other species and make up most living
matter.
>Less than .5% of the estimated 2 to 3 billion microbial species have
been identified.
>Microbes comprise ~60% of the earths biomass.
>Microbes drive the chemistry of life and affect the global climate.
>Microbial cycling of such critical chemical elements as carbon and
nitrogen helps keep the world inhabitable for all life forms.
>Microbes generate at least half the oxygen we breathe.
>Microbes thrive in an amazing diversity of habitats in extremes of
heat, cold, radiation, pressure, salinity, acidity, and darkness, and
often where no other life forms could exist and where nutrients come
only from inorganic matter.
>Microbes offer unusual capabilities reflecting the diversity of their
environmental niches. These may prove useful as a source of new
genes and organisms of value in addressing bioremediation, global
change, biotechnology, and energy production.
Microbial studies will help us define the entire repertoire of organisms
in specialized niches and, ultimately, the mechanisms by which they
interact in the biosphere.
Diversity patterns of microorganisms can be used for monitoring and
predicting environmental change.
>Microbes are roots of life's family tree. An understanding of their
genomes will help us understand how more complex genomes
developed.
>Microbial genomes are modest in size and relatively easy to study
(usually no more than 10 million DNA bases, compared with some 3
billion in the human and mouse genomes).
>Microbial communities are excellent models for understanding
biological interactions and evolution.
>Most microbes do not cause disease.
