Micro-organisms or microbes are a diverse group of small, simple life forms that include

bacteria, algae, fungi, protozoa and viruses.

Although they often go unnoticed, most micro-organisms are essential for life on Earth. For
example, various micro-organisms make bread rise, season cheese and produce valuable
products such as antibiotics and insulin. Others are harmful to people, animals and plants and
can cause diseases such as chicken pox and rubella. The most common microorganisms include
bacteria, small single-celled organisms that are neither animals nor plants. Bacteria come in a
variety of shapes, including spheres, rods and spirals, and often appear in pairs, chains, groups
of four or clusters. Viruses are smaller than bacteria. They are technically not living things
because they cannot survive on their own; they can only reproduce in living cells of animals,
plants or bacteria.

Fungi, once considered plants, are now a scientific kingdom of their own. Together with
bacteria, fungi are responsible for breaking down organic matter and releasing carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen and phosphorus into the atmosphere.

Algae are most often found in water, such as oceans, rivers, lakes and marshes, but some
species live in soil or on leaves, wood and rocks. Only a few species are so small that they can
only be seen through a microscope.