There can be found more than ten thousand species of microorganisms in just a few liters of seawater. There is great diversity among microorganisms, with some species capable of producing organic material from carbon dioxide and others capable of chemosynthesis and photosynthesis. Microorganisms with genetic instructions capable of making heavy metals insoluble have been discovered in plumes from thermal vents: just another example of how discoveries of new bio-planetary chemical functions might be found among microorganisms in the marine environment in the future.