The
level of gravity plays very little part in the morphology (structure and
form) of micro-organisms. Their cell membranes are stiff, compared
with their body weight. Similarly, the viscosity (gooeyness)
of their
associated liquid is enormous compared with its weight.
Consequently gravity has little effect on the microbe itself.
However, gravity does play a big part in the behavior of microbes, particularly
upon the medium - air and water, for instance - that the microbe inhabits.
On Earth, in still or slow-moving air, many microbes will tend to settle
towards the ground over time and this can effectively remove them from
the environment. It is a form of control.
In microgravity they will remain exactly where they are, until the air moves. On Space Stations, air movement is a problem. The air must be circulated all the time. Astronauts in microgravity can die of asphyxiation, unless the carbon-dioxide they exhale is removed from their vicinity by airflow. The still-air problem can be of benefit to micro-fungal spores. Dead air zones allow objects to accumulate, and a microbe is one such object.
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