About Bacteria Facts
Bacteria are ancient, diverse, adaptable, and essential. They were on Earth billions of years before humans, they transformed the atmosphere, and today they help drive ecosystems, food production, biotechnology, and the chemistry of our own bodies.
Bacteria Are Ancient
Bacteria have existed for billions of years.
Learn MoreBacteria Helped Fill the Atmosphere With Oxygen
Photosynthetic cyanobacteria changed the planet.
Learn MoreThey Are Extremely Abundant
Bacterial cells are found almost everywhere life can survive.
Learn MoreBacteria Can Share Genes
Genes can move between bacterial cells as well as from parent to offspring.
Learn MoreBiofilms Are Tiny Cities
Many bacteria live in structured communities attached to surfaces.
Learn MorePeople Use Bacteria to Make Food
Fermentation is one of humanity's oldest biotechnology tools.
Learn MoreBacteria Help Make Medicines
Biotechnology turns bacteria into tiny production systems.
Learn MoreE. coli Is Not Automatically Dangerous
A species name can include many genetically different strains.
Learn MoreAntibiotics Do Not Kill Viruses
Bacteria and viruses are fundamentally different.
Learn MoreMuch of the Microbial World Is Still Being Discovered
Scientists continue finding new bacteria and new genes.
Learn MoreBacteria Are Ancient
The earliest evidence of life is ancient and sometimes difficult to interpret, but microorganisms dominated Earth long before animals and plants appeared. Bacterial evolution has had enormous time to produce biochemical diversity.
Bacteria Helped Fill the Atmosphere With Oxygen
Early cyanobacteria released oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Over geological time, oxygen accumulated in oceans and the atmosphere, making possible many later forms of complex life.
They Are Extremely Abundant
Soil, oceans, sediments, plants, animals, and the atmosphere all contain bacteria. Scientists estimate global bacterial numbers at scales so large that ordinary counting words become difficult to imagine.
Bacteria Can Share Genes
Horizontal gene transfer occurs through several processes, including transformation, transduction, and conjugation. It can spread useful traits, including antibiotic resistance, across populations.
Biofilms Are Tiny Cities
Cells in a biofilm produce a matrix that holds the community together. Different layers can have different oxygen and nutrient conditions. Dental plaque is a familiar example.
People Use Bacteria to Make Food
Yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, kimchi, and many pickled foods depend partly or mainly on bacteria. Fermentation can change flavor, texture, acidity, digestibility, and storage properties.
Bacteria Help Make Medicines
Scientists can insert genes into laboratory bacteria so the cells produce useful proteins. Recombinant human insulin was one of the most important early examples.
E. coli Is Not Automatically Dangerous
Most E. coli live harmlessly in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals. Certain strains have acquired genes that allow them to cause disease, so identifying the strain matters.
Antibiotics Do Not Kill Viruses
Antibiotics target bacterial structures or processes. Viruses use host cells in a different way and require different prevention or treatment approaches. Unnecessary antibiotic use can encourage resistant bacteria.
Much of the Microbial World Is Still Being Discovered
DNA sequencing reveals organisms that were difficult or impossible to grow with traditional laboratory methods. Even familiar environments such as soil and the human gut contain enormous unexplored genetic diversity.