About Bacteria in Nature
Bacteria are essential parts of Earth's chemistry. They recycle dead material, move nitrogen and carbon through ecosystems, form partnerships with plants and animals, produce oxygen, and survive in environments from warm surface waters to deep sediments.
Decomposition
Bacteria help break down dead organisms and waste.
Learn MoreNitrogen Cycle
Bacteria perform several major steps of the nitrogen cycle.
Learn MoreCarbon Cycle
Bacterial respiration and photosynthesis affect the global carbon cycle.
Learn MoreCyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria use sunlight to make food and release oxygen.
Learn MoreRoots and Soil
Plant roots are surrounded by a rich microbial zone called the rhizosphere.
Learn MoreOcean Bacteria
Microscopic bacteria are major players in marine food webs.
Learn MoreExtreme Environments
Bacteria can live in heat, cold, salt, acidity, and deep underground environments.
Learn MoreBiofilms
Many bacteria naturally grow in communities attached to surfaces.
Learn MoreDecomposition
Decomposition returns carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and other nutrients to soil and water. Fungi and animals also participate, but bacterial metabolism is essential in almost every ecosystem.
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen fixers convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms. Other bacteria perform nitrification and denitrification, moving nitrogen between chemical forms and back to the atmosphere.
Carbon Cycle
Some bacteria consume organic carbon and release carbon dioxide, while photosynthetic bacteria capture carbon. Ocean microbes strongly influence how carbon moves between the atmosphere, living organisms, and deep water.
Cyanobacteria
Ancient cyanobacteria played a major role in the Great Oxidation Event more than two billion years ago, which greatly increased oxygen in Earth's atmosphere and oceans.
Roots and Soil
Roots release sugars and other compounds that feed microbes. In return, bacteria can influence nutrient availability, plant growth, and interactions with disease-causing organisms.
Ocean Bacteria
Marine bacteria consume dissolved organic matter, recycle nutrients, and feed tiny predators. Some photosynthetic bacteria contribute a large share of ocean primary production.
Extreme Environments
Different species have proteins and membranes adapted to special conditions. Not every organism in an extreme environment is a bacterium, however. Archaea are especially important in many extremes.
Biofilms
A biofilm is a structured community surrounded by a self-produced matrix. Biofilms occur on rocks, plant roots, teeth, pipes, riverbeds, and many other surfaces.