Ellen Sklarofsky, age l4, for her question:
What would happen if all the bacteria disappeared?
These one celled members of the plant world were not discovered until the microscope was invented. There are infinite varieties, some larger than others, but the biggest is too small for human eyes to see. However, if all the bacteria disappeared our world would become a barren wasteland.
A bacterium is a fungus type plant, and a row of 25,000 average sized bacteria measures about an inch. some are round, some shaped like rods and some like miniature corkscrews. Thousands of different types are known and each type has its own special role in the world of nature. We have bacteria friends and bacteria enemies, but most of them affect us only indirectly.
If they all disappeared, our milk and many other foods would be less likely to spoil. However, we would lose the bacteria that create cheese and butter milk. It would be fine to get rid of the water dwelling typhoid bacteria, but disastrous to lose the types that help purify water in our reservoirs.
We would be happy to say goodby to the bacteria that cause diphtheria and pneumonia, scarlet fever and whooping cough, pimples and tooth decay. But it would not improve our health if we also lost the friendly bacteria that live in our bodies and help to digest our food. It would be fine if the bacteria that cause plant and animal deseases disappeared but if all the other types also disappeared, there would be no plants nor animals to feed upon them.
Perhaps the most useful bacteria work secretly in the soil. Many types attack dead plant and animas material, causing it to rot and decay. This material is broken down into simple chemicals that fertilize the soil for next year's plants and food crops. Many bacteria enrich the soil with nitrogen and other vital plant foods. If all the decay causing bacteria disappeared, the world would be littered with animal corpses, the forests cluttered with fallen leaves and logs and the chemically starved soil could support no new greenery. Rabbits and other plant eating animals would soon perish:
Our clever chemists have found ways to slaughter hordes of enemy bacteria, and medical science has drugs to counteract many diseases caused by bacteria. But among the teeming swarms of microscopic bacteria, our enemies are surprisingly few. Far more types are our friends and vital allies. The vast bulk of the world's bacteria population operates behind the scenes and indirectly sustains lift. should all the bacteria disappear, all the people most likely would disappear also.