Editing Food (section)

===Microorganisms===
Bacteria and other microorganisms also form the lower rungs of the food chain. They obtain their energy from photosynthesis or by breaking down dead organisms, waste or chemical compounds. Some form symbiotic relationships with other organisms to obtain their nutrients.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Gupta |first1=Ankit |title=Microbes and Environment |date=2017 |work=Principles and Applications of Environmental Biotechnology for a Sustainable Future |pages=43–84 |editor-last=Singh |editor-first=Ram Lakhan |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1866-4_3 |access-date=2024-05-01 |place=Singapore |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-981-10-1866-4_3 |isbn=978-981-10-1866-4 |pmc=7189961 |last2=Gupta |first2=Rasna |last3=Singh |first3=Ram Lakhan}}</ref> Bacteria provide a source of food for protozoa,<ref>{{Citation |last=Foissner |first=W. |title=PROTOZOA |date=2005-01-01 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment |pages=336–347 |editor-last=Hillel |editor-first=Daniel |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123485304001624 |access-date=2024-05-01 |place=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/b0-12-348530-4/00162-4 |isbn=978-0-12-348530-4}}</ref> who in turn provide a source of food for other organisms such as small invertebrates.<ref>{{Citation |last=Foissner |first=W. |title=Protozoa☆ |date=2014-01-01 |work=Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124095489091302 |access-date=2024-05-01 |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-409548-9.09130-2 |isbn=978-0-12-409548-9}}</ref> Other organisms that feed on bacteria include nematodes, fan worms, shellfish and a species of snail.

In the marine environment, plankton (which includes [[bacteria]], [[archaea]], [[algae]], [[protozoa]] and microscopic [[fungi]])<ref name="Lawton-2024-02-10">{{cite journal |last1=Lawton |first1=Graham |date=10 February 2024 |title=Fungi ahoy! |journal=New Scientist |volume=261 |issue=3477 |pages=37–39 |doi=10.1016/S0262-4079(24)00274-4|bibcode=2024NewSc.261b..37L }}</ref> provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms.

Without bacteria, life would scarcely exist because bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into nutritious [[ammonia]]. Ammonia is the precursor to proteins, nucleic acids, and most vitamins. Since the advent of the industrial process for nitrogen fixation, the [[Haber-Bosch Process]], the majority of ammonia in the world is human-made.<ref>{{cite book |year=2004|title=Enriching the Earth Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production|author=Vaclav Smil|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=9780262693134}}</ref>