What is process by which bacteria break organic matter into simple nutrients and how do bacteria absorb nutrients and bacteria survive without nutrients?
Decomposition is the process by which bacteria and fungi break dead organisms into their simple compounds. Plants can absorb and use these compounds again, completing the cycle. Decomposing bacteria and fungi are described as saprophytic because of the way they break down dead organic matter. They absorb nutrients from the environment. The nutrients cross the bacterial cell wall and cell membrane through several processes like diffusion, which is mostly passive and facilitated, active transport, or by secreting carrier proteins to the environment to bring the needed nutrients back into the cell. Bacteria can become dormant or form spores when they are starved for nutrients. Here, we find that non-sporulating Bacillus subtilis cells can survive deep starvation conditions for many months. During this period, cells adopt an almost coccoid shape and become tolerant to antibiotics.
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