A microorganism is that kind of life?

In nature, there are living organisms, the sizes of which are so small that it is simply impossible to see them with the naked eye. They are observed by scientists only with the help of high magnification microscopes (respectively, they were discovered only with the invention of these devices).

Who are they?

A microorganism is a collective name. The most characteristic size of the microbe is less than 0.1 mm. Hence its name. Microorganisms are the protozoa in general. According to biologists, this cohort includes both nuclear-free (archaea and bacteria), and eukaryotes, as well as some fungi and algae. But not viruses, which scientists usually allocate in a separate group.

Design

Almost every microorganism is a unicellular structure, skillfully invented and shaped by nature. As a rule, microbes consist of a single cell. But there are exceptions: there are among them and multicellular, which represent a collection of cells, a chain for example. By the way, there are also macroorganisms on the Earth, visible to the naked eye, but consisting of one cell.

Habitat

Bacteria are very unpretentious microorganisms. They can survive in conditions unsuitable for the existence of other living beings. Inhabit bacteria on land, sea, air, and in the bodies of other organisms. For bacteria, it is important that the habitat meets their requirements to the maximum: the substrate contains nutrients, the humidity is sufficient for living, direct sunlight does not get (since these microscopic creatures are very afraid of ultraviolet exposure, which is used in medicine for disinfection).

In the soil

Undoubtedly, the greatest number of bacteria is in the soil. In natural humus, almost ideal conditions for the life of unicellular organisms. Here, in abundance food, moderate humidity, and there is no direct sunlight. If the conditions are suitable, not one species of microorganisms may settle in the soil and multiply. These are basically saprophytes and saprophagous bacteria that participate in the cycle of substances in nature, decomposing the dead remains of other organisms that feed the plants. The composition of this microflora is quite diverse and is represented by many types of microbes. These are arhebacteria, spirochetes, and blue-green algae. Here, both mushrooms and viruses live. It is known that in sandstones the prevailing quantity of aerobic, and in loams - anaerobic. The number of bacteria in the soil is breaking all records. In one gram of humus (according to the method of staining microbes, invented by Vinogradsky), hundreds of millions of beings invisible to the naked eye can be found. In order to "count" the organisms, they are painted with a special composition, and then they become clearly visible under a microscope. And in rich chernozems, the number of these creatures can reach up to two billion per gram of soil. Actually, the bacteria themselves create it, not stopping for a minute biological processes and transformation of substances.

In water and air

A microorganism is an unpretentious one. As we already know, bacteria can live in any environment that will seem to them more or less attractive. This applies to the water spaces (especially when there is no active movement of water). Here, microbes are satisfied with one of the main parameters - the presence of moisture, without which they can not do without. And there are plenty of food in lakes and rivers, seas and oceans for many bacteria. So, with sufficient food, in several grams of water there can be millions of microorganisms. Among them - and especially dangerous for humans.

• Salmonella stimulates intestinal infections. With lesions in humans, there may be pain in the digestive tract, fever, vomiting. As a fight with a dangerous microorganism, the use of ultraviolet rays and long boiling are actively used.
• Shigella is the causative agent of dysentery. In case of defeat, the level of resistance of the organism decreases, immunity decreases. The main symptoms: vomiting, nausea, diarrhea. For decontamination, thermal treatment is also applied by prolonged boiling, filtration.
• Vibrio cholera. Although it is believed that in our time the disease, in general, is defeated, this bacterium is still found in nature (in the aquatic environment, for example) and poses a certain threat to human lives. Prevention - boiling, filters, ultraviolet.

Also, many bacteria are present in the air, but they use this environment mainly for movement in space, the settlement of new territories. With the smallest particles of dust and moisture, the bacteria, as it were, soar into the air, sometimes overcoming huge distances, fall out along with the sediments on the soil and there they already form their colonies.

Blue-green algae

Of all the diversity of microorganisms living in the water, you can distinguish especially blue-green algae. By the way, the algae they called wrongly, they refer to bacteria and are now called cyanobacteria. This microorganism is a direct descendant of stromatolites, bacteria that lived on the planet more than three billion years ago. Cyanobacteria are the only bacteria capable of photosynthesis, the result of which is the formation of oxygen. They include pigments chlorophyll and phycocyanins, giving such a blue-green color. These bacteria are quite widespread in nature. Their habitat - water basins, coast, raw rocks, tree bark, soil. They include many varieties. But the main feature and significance of blue-green algae that live everywhere is the release of oxygen as a result of photosynthesis. So they directly, along with other representatives of the flora, participate in the formation of the Earth's atmosphere. And in ancient times, according to modern scientists, the ancestors of these microorganisms literally created the atmosphere of our planet.

Conditionally pathogenic microorganisms

These are mainly microbes, which under certain conditions can cause harm, but in normal conditions "they keep neutrality". Such creatures of nature are quite numerous in the human body, they constitute its microbial microflora. These are enterococci, E. coli, staphylococcus and fungi, which under certain conditions can become pathogenic, that is pathogenic. But in the body of a healthy person with good immunity this, as a rule, does not occur.