But also like carbon dioxide, if there is too much nitrous oxide, there will be too much warming, which can cause the EarthвЂ™s climate to change. Just like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide helps keep the planet warm. One of these gases, called nitrous oxide, is a greenhouse gas. Even though they live in the deep ocean, when these microbes breathe, they change the dissolved nitrogen into gases that end up in the atmosphere. These nitrogen-breathing microbes play an important role on Earth. (B) Our estimate of the locations where nitrogen-breathing microbes live (the red areas), also at 270 m depth (Figure based on ).

The dark blue areas of the map are where there is not much oxygen.Figure 2 - (A) Concentrations of oxygen in the ocean at 270 m depth.

But some kinds of microbes have superpowers: they can breathe things other than oxygen! For example, some microbes can breathe forms of another element called nitrogen ( Figure 1). Many microbes also use oxygen to breathe. They use their gills to pull oxygen out of the water, just like we use our lungs to pull oxygen out of the air. This is why they have to wear space suits! Fish also need to breathe oxygen underwater. When astronauts travel to outer space, they bring food, water, and oxygen with them, since there is no oxygen in space. We humans, like all animals, need to breathe oxygen. To survive, all organisms need food, water, and something to breathe. These bacteria play important roles on planet Earth, as we will see. There are also bacteria living everywhere in the environment-in the dirt, and in lakes, rivers, and the ocean. For example, there are millions of bacteria that live inside our digestive tracts that help us digest our meals. But there are many more good or harmless bacteria than there are bad bacteria.

Many bacteria cause diseases or infections, like ear infections or sore throats. We often hear about the вЂњbad sideвЂќ of microbes. Unlike us, most microbes consist of just one tiny cell. Larger organisms like us are made up of millions or billions of cells joined together. Very small organisms, like bacteria, are called microorganisms (or microbes). Nitrogen-Breathing MicrobesДЄll living beings-like cats, dogs, trees, and you-are organisms. Our work will help us to understand the role that nitrogen-breathing microbes play in the regulation of EarthвЂ™s climate. We made a map of the world that points out the areas in the deep ocean where nitrogen-breathing microbes are likely to live. In this article, we describe how we found a new way to estimate these areas. But where are these areas? We wanted to figure out where these superpowered nitrogen-breathing microbes live in the ocean. But some microbes have a superpower: they can breathe a different element called nitrogen! This means they can live in areas where there is no oxygen. Many kinds of tiny microorganisms (microbes) also need oxygen. All animals, including you, need oxygen to breathe.

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