[compost_tea] Re: Alaska Humus - Are the organisms Ancient?
If by our question you mean are the organisms hundreds or thousands of years
old, then generally the answer is no.
But its only a general answer because each organism species is different.
Bacteria have a lifespan between a few hours and a few days, depending on
the species.
Generally Protozoa live a few days and fungi as long as a few weeks.
But what clouds the whole question is that each of these organisms
procreate. In the case of protozoa, they multiply by mitosis, i.e. one cell
divides and becomes two. So after the protozoan cell has divided, can the
two offspring be considered both children or is one the parent and one the
child? This question actually has been debated for decades by biologists but
there is a school of thought that goes with the "both are children" side
which means that the parent no longer exists. I suppose one could say the
parent has died, though clearly not in the way we think of death. Each
protozoan cell can then divide again and so on anywhere from a few dozen
times to several thousand times, depending on the species.
With fungi, they reproduce with spores. After reproduction, the fungal
hyphae that produced the spores die and the physical body decomposes. The
spores then grow into new hyphae.
So I hope this answers your question.
Douglas G. Larson,
Bothell, Washington
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in
your years. - Abraham Lincoln
Received on Sat Jan 22 2011 - 21:50:25 EST
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