Concept
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The Origins of Archaea and Bacteria
Microbial mat
This (a) microbial mat, about one meter in diameter, grows over a hydrothermal vent in the Pacific Ocean in a region known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire." The mat helps retain microbial nutrients. Chimneys, such as the one indicated by the arrow, allow gases to escape. (b) In this micrograph, bacteria are visualized using fluorescence microscopy.
Source
Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:
"OpenStax College, Prokaryotic Diversity. October 16, 2013."
http://cnx.org/content/m44603/latest/Figure_22_01_01.jpg
OpenStax CNX
CC BY 3.0.