Due to their extreme simplicity in structure, small size favouring rapid cell division, highly resistant nature and diversified mode of nutrition, bacteria are of universal occurrence. They are present in our mouth and flourish in intestine. They are present in air we breathe and in food we eat; they abundantly occur in fresh and salt water, soil water and even in ice. Their most favourable habitat is soil, where they occur in abundance mainly in the upper half feet. In a handful of garden soil, the bacterial population may outnumber the human population on the earth.
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