{"id":318,"date":"2026-06-06T11:26:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T11:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/?p=318"},"modified":"2026-06-06T11:31:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T11:31:00","slug":"have-there-been-any-major-events-in-earths-history-significantly-influenced-by-microbes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68","title":{"rendered":"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_image_0 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/History_microbes.png\" title=\"History_microbes\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/History_microbes.png 1536w, https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/History_microbes-1280x853.png 1280w, https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/History_microbes-980x653.png 980w, https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/History_microbes-480x320.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1536px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-320\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_1 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_2 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_1 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_1 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the most important events in Earth's history were driven not by plants or animals, but by microbes. Long before complex life evolved, microorganisms were already reshaping the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most significant examples was the <\/span><b>Great Oxidation Event<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which occurred about 2.4 billion years ago. Photosynthetic cyanobacteria began releasing oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis, gradually transforming Earth's atmosphere from oxygen-poor to oxygen-rich. This change paved the way for the evolution of complex life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microbes also played a key role in the origin of complex cells. Scientists believe that mitochondria, the energy-producing structures found in plants, animals, and fungi, evolved from ancient bacteria that entered into a long-term partnership with another cell. This event helped give rise to all complex life on Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout Earth's history, microbes have continued to regulate major planetary cycles. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria such as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rhizobium<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and marine microbes such as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prochlorococcus<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> help drive the nitrogen and carbon cycles that support modern ecosystems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microbes have influenced human history as well. Disease-causing organisms such as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yersinia pestis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which caused the Black Death, and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Variola virus<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the cause of smallpox, altered populations, economies, and societies on a global scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From oxygenating the atmosphere to enabling the evolution of complex organisms, microbes have repeatedly changed the course of Earth's history. Many of the conditions that make our planet habitable today can be traced back to the activities of microscopic life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_3 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_2 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_2 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_code_0 et_pb_code et_pb_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_code_inner\"><div style=\"width: 100%; padding: 15px; border: 1px solid #ccc; background-color: #ffffff !important; border-radius: 8px; box-sizing: border-box;\">\n  <p style=\"color: #333; font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0;\">\n<strong><em>Microbes did not simply inhabit Earth\u2014they helped build the conditions that made complex life possible.\n<\/em><\/strong>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes? - All about Microbes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes? - All about Microbes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"All about Microbes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-06T11:26:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-06T11:31:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Narsi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Narsi\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Narsi\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40faad79d3e2e036d9df3b2f2d9faff8\"},\"headline\":\"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T11:26:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-06T11:31:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":14,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/\",\"name\":\"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes? - All about Microbes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-06T11:26:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-06T11:31:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40faad79d3e2e036d9df3b2f2d9faff8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/q\\\/68\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/\",\"name\":\"All about Microbes\",\"description\":\"Small Things. Massive Impact.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40faad79d3e2e036d9df3b2f2d9faff8\",\"name\":\"Narsi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3a54732b937db291df36f0308d20701738836dff8890a2fef4835cbe26169815?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3a54732b937db291df36f0308d20701738836dff8890a2fef4835cbe26169815?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3a54732b937db291df36f0308d20701738836dff8890a2fef4835cbe26169815?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Narsi\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prochlo.com\\\/s\\\/microbes\\\/author\\\/all_microbes\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes? - All about Microbes","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes? - All about Microbes","og_url":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/","og_site_name":"All about Microbes","article_published_time":"2026-06-06T11:26:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-06T11:31:00+00:00","author":"Narsi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Narsi"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/"},"author":{"name":"Narsi","@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/#\/schema\/person\/40faad79d3e2e036d9df3b2f2d9faff8"},"headline":"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes?","datePublished":"2026-06-06T11:26:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-06T11:31:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/"},"wordCount":14,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/","url":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/","name":"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes? - All about Microbes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-06T11:26:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-06T11:31:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/#\/schema\/person\/40faad79d3e2e036d9df3b2f2d9faff8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/q\/68\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Have There Been Any Major Events in Earth\u2019s History Significantly Influenced by Microbes?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/","name":"All about Microbes","description":"Small Things. Massive Impact.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/#\/schema\/person\/40faad79d3e2e036d9df3b2f2d9faff8","name":"Narsi","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a54732b937db291df36f0308d20701738836dff8890a2fef4835cbe26169815?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a54732b937db291df36f0308d20701738836dff8890a2fef4835cbe26169815?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a54732b937db291df36f0308d20701738836dff8890a2fef4835cbe26169815?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Narsi"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes"],"url":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/author\/all_microbes\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322,"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions\/322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prochlo.com\/s\/microbes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}