If all Microorganisms Vanish from the Surface of Planet Earth, what becomes of Man?
Main Article Content
Abstract
Microorganisms were the earliest biological creatures of the universe here on earth and have existed over billions of years ago and bacteria specifically have given rise to all other higher multicellular plants and animals including man. Since microbes are responsible for disease and have caused several millions of deaths in the past among humans, one would wish all these microbes suddenly should be wiped out in order to preserve man. Most often the advantages of bacteria to man are listed but often not seen as justifiable enough to warrant the continued existence of bacteria and archaebacteria here on planet earth. The authors looked at the advantages and disadvantages of microbes and also what would happen to man if all microbes are suddenly wiped out from the earth. And found out that it would be a catastrophic event in which global warming will continue to increase rapidly due to increase of Co2 and decrease of oxygen, all ruminants such as cows and sheep will all die, all plants will die, all refuse dumps, dead animals, dead plants, toxic wastes and accumulated human excreta will not undergo biodegradation and recycled back to the environment. In conclusion the advantages of microbes to man far outweigh their disadvantages of causing diseases and if all microbes vanish from the surface of the earth, in no distant time man as well will vanish.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Hazen, R.M. How Old is Earth, and How Do We Know?. Evo Edu Outreach. 2010; 3:198–205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-010-0226-0.
Stuiver M, Kromer B, Becker B, Ferguson CW. Radiocarbon age calibration back to 13, 300 years BP and the 14C age matching of the German oak and US bristlecone pine chronologies. Radiocarbon. 1986;28:969–79.
Horowitz JH, Hubbard JS. The origin of life Annu. Rev. Genet. 1974.8:393-410.
Bendall D S. Evolution from Molecules to Men. Cambridge: Cambridge University , 1983. In: Guksch CE. Zeitschrift Für Ethnologie. 1986;(111)2:311–314. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25841994.
Stark LA. Beneficial microorganisms: countering microbephobia. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2010;9(4):387-389. doi:10.1187/cbe.10-09-0119.
Chen G, Zhu H, Zhang Y. Soil microbial activities and carbon and nitrogen fixation. Res Microbiol. 2003;154(6):393-8. doi: 10.1016/S0923-2508(03)00082-2.
Andreiuk EI, Valagurova EV, Miatlikova EA, Tkacheva GA. Tselliulozorazrushaiushchie mikroorganizmy zapovednogo i okul-turennogo chernozema Khomutovskoĭ stepi [Cellulose decomposing microorganisms from reserve and cultivated chernozem of the Khomutovsk steppe]. Mikrobiol Zh. 1979;41(5):466-70. Russian. PMID: 530116.
Jombo GT, Peters EJ, Gyuse AN, Nwankon JP. Outcome of directly observed therapy short course (DOTS) regimen in a rural community of the Nigerian Niger Delta. Niger J Med. 2008;17(1):61-66. doi: 10.4314/njm.v17i1.37358. PMID: 18390136.
Jombo GTA, Enenebeaku MNO, Utsalo SJ. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella species in contemporary medical practice: challenges and prospects in treatment of enteric fevers. Global J Comm Medicine. 2009; 2(1-2): 5-11. DOI: 10.4314/gjcm.v2i1-2.47923.
Gilbert JA, Neufeld JD. Life in a World without Microbes. PLoS Biol. 2014; 12(12): e1002020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002020.
Cavicchioli, R., Ripple, W.J., Timmis, K.N, Azam F, Bakken LR, Baylis M, et al. Scientists' warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change. Nat Rev Microbiol 17: 569–586 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-019-0222-5.
Azam F, Malfatti F. Microbial structuring of marine ecosystems. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 2007;5:782–791 (2007).