The objects of our attention are the free-living microorganisms that remove organic material from their surroundings. Whatever the source, microorganisms do the heavy lifting in returning the material to the carbon cycle. They were into recycling before it was fashionable, and where they fail, we have pollution. Plants bring a diverse array of chemicals to the table either to deter or to encourage specific microbial interactions.
Bacteria respond in varied ways to clear the table.
Lurking in all of this are myriad physiological and genetic responses, some of which can be glimpsed in the present and interpreted in the context of evolution. It is our good fortune to work with bacteria that allow some of these interpretations to be tested in the laboratory. The bacteria have taught us quite a bit about heredity. One lesson has been the importance of membranes, not generally regarded as the hereditary material, in conferring upon a cell its self-identity. On the other hand, DNA has a secret life, and its fidelity has been exaggerated.