It is highly possible even for certain bacteria to be transferred from one planet to another in comets and asteroids. With so much unknown about the origin and diversity of microbes, it is difficult to assess their importance to ecology and human life. They are certainly among the organisms most resilient to climatic change. This stability and adaptability is especially valuable to ecosystems. Understanding the lives of microbes is important not only for preventing more tragedies like the one in Walkerton.
Microbial ecology is an essential overtone to the lives of more complex plants and animals.
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