Mutations are misspellings or changes in the genetic code. They're pretty rare, only about one mutation occurs for every 1-10 million DNA bases, but microbes reproduce very quickly. For example some bacteria can divide every nine minutes. And the entire DNA string or genome (gee-nome) of microbes is relatively small. For example, the average bacterium has only about five million DNA bases. So in each new generation of bacteria, there may be one or two mistakes in the genetic code. In other words, these random mutations occur often enough in microbes to play a significant role in their ability to survive and adapt.