TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND GERMS COULD EASILY LURK UNDER THE TOP HALF OF THIS SEMICOLON;

A single bacterium – a microbe - is only about three microns long. With a tough, armored, outer cell wall, it is shaped somewhat like a railway tank car. Viruses are even smaller and are the most basic of all microorganisms. They contain only nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and a protein coat cover. Some more complex viruses are enclosed in a protective envelope derived from infected microbes own cell membrane. Viruses require the help of other microbes to reproduce. Bacteria, fungi, chlamydia are more complex and have a nuclear body (DNA or RNA) and cytoplasm that contain components that convert nutrients into energy to drive the microbe’s functions. These microorganisms can reproduce on their own.