Describe the scientific and commercial advantages of sequencing the bacterial genome
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Describe the scientific and commercial advantages of sequencing the bacterial genome.
Prokaryotes like bacteria serve many vital functions in the world today. For example they are vital in chemical cycling. Autotrophic bacteria return O2 to the air and remove CO2, while other bacteria, like cyanobacteria and bacteria in the roots of legumes, convert inorganic N2 in the atmosphere to organic nitrates and nitrites that can be incorporated by plants in the amino groups of proteins and the nitrogenous bases of nucleic acids. Bacteria are also used in solving environmental problems. They are sprayed in oil spills, where they rapidly multiply and break the oil molecules into less toxic compounds and take some of the nutrients that they break. In a similar way, bacteria can also clean up old mines. The water from old mines is filled with highly acidic heavy metals that are highly toxic and expensive to clean up. However, the use of bacteria, especially a genus called Thiobacillus, which thrives in acidic water, can extract copper and other valuable metals from the water. (Ref...