The independent microorganisms of our planet earth - Part One

Were it not for the exceptional powers and functions of microscopic organisms, life on Earth would soon stop, as microorganisms provide living beings with essentially important building materials. We live in a world where the fundamental ingredients for life are limited, so if the raw materials that provide energy for a generation's growth were to be locked up in their individuals when they die, the next generations would suffer from a significant scarcity of resources.   

If life goes on, it is thanks to the recycling of such ingredients. When an animal or plant dies, its remains serve as food for bacteria and other microorganisms that break down lifeless tissues, reducing the materials from which they are made to their basic components, and even returning them to the environment for later use.   

 The natural cycles of growth and decomposition follow one another uninterruptedly, mainly thanks to the intervention of independent microorganisms; that is, those that the evolutionary process has led to a way of life in which they have to compete with other organisms for food. Their versatility and ability to colonize new habitats, as well as to feed on all kinds of chemicals, allow them to pass the test.   

 In order to feed themselves, the protozoa are forced to hunt their food; they therefore need to have some means of moving around. These organisms are equipped with various means of propulsion. Some protozoa, particularly amebiform species, use the same mechanism to move and feed themselves, swallowing up nutritive particles as they advance, by the procedure of surrounding them with their own protoplasm, so that they become part of the cell.   

The food can consist, for example, of a bacterium, which is enclosed inside the protozoon along with a droplet of water in which it swam. Once the bacterium is swallowed, the cell secretes digestive juices that pass into the vacuole where the food is, breaking it down into simpler substances.