Romel Turner

Unit 10 Assignment 1 Environmental Microbiology

SC2730 Arceo

Water is usually tested for safety by using fecal coliforms (primarily Escherichia coli) as
an impression that all bacteria are harmful and that maybe the Earth would be better off if all
bacteria were eliminated. What would life be like in a bacteria-free world?
Its true. In fact, without bacteria there would be no life as we know it, no plants, no
animals, not even a protists could live on this planet. Since bacteria live in the soil and water, we
wouldnt be able to exist without them. The ecology of planet earth relies on these tiny
organisms. They convert atmospheric nitrogen into compounds plants require, they create
vitamins and other products for their animal hosts, and they are the maintenance crew that breaks
down dead bodies, cast off parts, and animal wastes (BioMed, 2013). One line of bacteria has a
special claim to fame, for without them we would not be breathing. In fact, we would not even
be here. The Cyanobacteria (once known as blue-green algae) developed the chemistry needed
to split water into hydrogen and oxygen sometime around two billion years ago. They were the
first organisms to release the oxygen into the atmosphere and begin the evolution of aerobic life
forms: protists, plants, animals and fungi (BioMed, 2013). Bacteria have played central roles in
this evolutionary drama. So without bacteria, we would not be able to survive without them.
With so much advertising for various antibacterial products, many people have gotten the
impression that all bacteria are harmful and that maybe the Earth would be better off if all
bacteria were eliminated. What would life be like in a bacteria-free world?
If there was no bacteria, humans and plants wouldn't be able to live. Bacteria help our
bodies develop, and they do a process of nitrogen fixation to help plants give us oxygen.
Therefore, without bacteria nothing on earth would be able to live. Everyone would die, since

Romel Turner

Unit 10 Assignment 1 Environmental Microbiology

SC2730 Arceo

we need bacteria inside our body to digest food for us. But we as humans have bacteria on our
body. Not all bacteria are bad. So, if there just wasn't bacteria, then I think it could be bad,
because what would happen to the things that need good bacteria to survive? Or even things that
need bad bacteria to survive. Bacteria also make vaccines and when something dies, plant or
animal, bacteria is what decomposes it. When things are rotting, its just bacteria releasing
carbon & other important nutrients out of the dead organism and into the air and soil. They also
decompose compost and sewage which helps create methane. If bacteria didn't exist, the waste
would just keep accumulating at record speed and interfere with the existence of everything
living on earth. Plus decomposition returns carbon dioxide into the air which enables plants and
the rest of the world to survive. This natural recycling process returns minerals to the earth and
makes it fit for plants and animals to live. So yes, we do need bacteria, no matter how bad some
of it can be.

Romel Turner

Unit 10 Assignment 1 Environmental Microbiology

SC2730 Arceo

Reference
Bacteria, Ya Can't Live Without Um!. (2013, May 1). Bacteria, Ya Can't Live Without Um!.
Retrieved November 20, 2013, from https://www.ebiomedia.com/bacteria-ya-cant-livewithout-um.html