--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bacteria are single-celled organisms…" description: "\"Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria are the model organisms for everything that we know in higher organisms. There are 10 times more bacteri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/bonnie-bassler-16646_bacteria_bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bac_2348714.png" --- # Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria are the… ![“Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria are the model organisms for everything that we know in higher organisms. There are 10 times more bacterial cells in you or on you than human cells.” quote by Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/bonnie-bassler-16646_bacteria_bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bac_2348714.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/bonnie-bassler-16646_bacteria_bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bac_2348714.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/bonnie-bassler-16646_bacteria_bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bac_2348714.png) > “Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria are the model organisms for everything that we know in higher organisms. There are 10 times more bacterial cells in you or on you than human cells.” [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bacteria are fundamental, abundant single‑cell life forms that underpin our understanding of complex organisms. **In simple terms:** Bacteria are tiny, essential building blocks of life. Key Takeaway Study microbes to grasp biology. Themes biology microbiology foundations Mood curious informative Type scientific educational When to use this quote - medical research - education - health diagnostics Key Concepts cellular life model organisms ecosystems Questions to Reflect On - How do bacteria influence human health? - What can we learn from bacterial ecosystems? A Different Perspective Bacteria also cause disease; balance is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“around, some microbiologists have suggested that classifying bacteria by species is futile. It seems as if all bacteria belong to one mega-species, and different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-e-maczulak/around-some-microbiologists-have-suggested-that-classifying-bacteria/) [Anne E. Maczulak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-e-maczulak/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) Marcia Bjornerud > [In my lab, we are always thinking about how cells, bacterial cells, can talk to each other and then organize themselves into enormous groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/in-my-lab-we-are-always-thinking-about-how-cells-bacterial-cells-can/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [“Not to use bacteria as model organisms for more complex animals, but the reverse: to literally make complex animals more like their model organisms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-landecker/not-to-use-bacteria-as-model-organisms-for-more-complex-animals-but/) Hannah Landecker > [Molecular biology has shown that even the simplest of all living systems on the earth today, bacterial cells, are exceedingly complex objects. Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-denton/molecular-biology-has-shown-that-even-the-simplest-of-all-living/) [Michael Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-denton/) > [Nature is flexible and resilient. Nature likes redundancy and dispersion. It is approximate and deals in gradients. All boundaries are permeable. Nature nests small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frenay/nature-is-flexible-and-resilient-nature-likes-redundancy-and/) Robert Frenay > [“Of course I'd long known that I was playing host to a massive collection of parasitic organisms, but I didn't much like being reminded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/of-course-i-d-long-known-that-i-was-playing-host-to-a-massive/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If you look at the ecological circuitry of this planet, the ways in which materials like carbon or sulfur or phosphorous or nitrogen get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-h-knoll/if-you-look-at-the-ecological-circuitry-of-this-planet-the-ways-in/) Andrew H. Knoll > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [When you get into the whole field of exploring, probably 90 percent of the kinds of organisms, plants, animals and especially microorganisms and tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/when-you-get-into-the-whole-field-of-exploring-probably-90-percent-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [ In the beginning, there were bacteria… \[A\] nearly universal assumption is that all subsequent life descended from the original life form through a continuous… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/in-the-beginning-there-were-bacteria-a-nearly-universal-assumption-is/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Perhaps bacteria may tentatively be regarded as biochemical experiments; owing to their relatively small size and rapid growth, variations must arise much more frequently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjory-stephenson/perhaps-bacteria-may-tentatively-be-regarded-as-biochemical/) Marjory Stephenson > [You are one miniscule piece of a never-ending cycle. In fact, you're not even a piece. You're just a holder for billions and billions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/you-are-one-miniscule-piece-of-a-never-ending-cycle-in-fact-you-re/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [Here at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, we have genetically rearranged various viruses and bacteria as part of our medical research. In fact, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watson/here-at-the-cold-spring-harbor-laboratory-we-have-genetically/) [James D. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-watson/) > [These microscopic organisms form an entire world composed of species, families and varieties whose history, which has barely begun to be written, is already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/these-microscopic-organisms-form-an-entire-world-composed-of-species/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) ## More by Bonnie Bassler > [We mostly don't get sick. Most often, bacteria are keeping us well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/we-mostly-don-t-get-sick-most-often-bacteria-are-keeping-us-well/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [It's a manic-depressive life. You run in here, you open your incubator, your experiment makes no sense, you think, 'I hate this job.' Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/it-s-a-manic-depressive-life-you-run-in-here-you-open-your-incubator/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [All these bacteria that coat our skin and live in our intestines, they fend off bad bacteria. They protect us. And you can't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/all-these-bacteria-that-coat-our-skin-and-live-in-our-intestines-they/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [My bacteria glow in the dark - no human being doesn't like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/my-bacteria-glow-in-the-dark-no-human-being-doesn-t-like-that/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [Most bacteria aren't bad. We breathe and eat and ingest gobs of bacteria every single moment of our lives. Our food is covered in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/most-bacteria-aren-t-bad-we-breathe-and-eat-and-ingest-gobs-of/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [I called up and said, 'Dad, I won a MacArthur.' My father goes: 'I always thought your sister would win that,' and I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/i-called-up-and-said-dad-i-won-a-macarthur-my-father-goes-i-always/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [By weight, you are more human than bacteria, because your cells are bigger, but by numbers, it's not even close.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/by-weight-you-are-more-human-than-bacteria-because-your-cells-are/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [We've all been sick; we're all afraid of infection. I think the easiest application to help people understand what quorum sensing is and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/we-ve-all-been-sick-we-re-all-afraid-of-infection-i-think-the-easiest/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [You can find bacteria everywhere. They're invisible to us. I've never seen a bacterium, except under a microscope. They're so small, we don't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/you-can-find-bacteria-everywhere-they-re-invisible-to-us-i-ve-never/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [If a bacterium is trying to infect you, it won't secrete alone, because your immune system will block it. Bacteria will hide until they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/if-a-bacterium-is-trying-to-infect-you-it-won-t-secrete-alone-because/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [Bacteria mineralized the rocks; they deposited the iron. They made the geology we see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/bacteria-mineralized-the-rocks-they-deposited-the-iron-they-made-the/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [You think of yourselves as human beings, but I think of you as 99 percent bacterial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/you-think-of-yourselves-as-human-beings-but-i-think-of-you-as-99/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [Bacteria live in unbelievable mixtures of hundreds or thousands of species. Like on your teeth. There are 600 species of bacteria on your teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/bacteria-live-in-unbelievable-mixtures-of-hundreds-or-thousands-of/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [You live in intimate association with bacteria, and you couldn't survive without them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/you-live-in-intimate-association-with-bacteria-and-you-couldn-t/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) > [I remember the day we found the gene for the inter-species signaling molecule like it was yesterday. We got the gene, and we plugged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/i-remember-the-day-we-found-the-gene-for-the-inter-species-signaling/) [Bonnie Bassler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) [Explore all 39 Bonnie Bassler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/) ## More Bacteria quotes > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) > [You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it." "Stuff and silliness," said the old lady.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-t-just-boss-bacteria-around-like-that-said-the-younger-mrs/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) Marcia Bjornerud > [Plants with leaves no more efficient than today's solar cells could out-compete real plants, crowding the biosphere with an inedible foliage. Tough omnivorous bacteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/plants-with-leaves-no-more-efficient-than-today-s-solar-cells-could/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [With one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) that all humans who have ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/with-one-linear-centimeter-of-your-lower-colon-there-lives-and-works/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) Richard E. Leakey > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Human health should now be thought of as a collective property of the human-associate d microbiota, as one group of researchers recently concluded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/human-health-should-now-be-thought-of-as-a-collective-property-of-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Browse all 285 Bacteria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria are the model organisms for everything that we know in higher organisms. There are 10 times more bacterial cells in you or on you than human cells.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bonnie Bassler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bacteria-are-the-model-organisms/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bacteria" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bacteria-are-the-model-organisms/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/bonnie-bassler-16646_bacteria_bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bac_2348714.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/bonnie-bassler-16646_bacteria_bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bac_2348714.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/bonnie-bassler-16646_bacteria_bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bac_2348714.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria are the model organisms for everything that we know in higher…” — Bonnie Bassler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bonnie Bassler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-bassler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Bacteria are single-celled organisms. Bacteria are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bacteria-are-the-model-organisms/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-bassler/bacteria-are-single-celled-organisms-bacteria-are-the-model-organisms/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```