2024/8/15/ · Bacteria feed on readily degradable organic matter in a compost pile at first, rapidly growing and dominating in the thermophilic stage (Wu et al., 2020b).Certain bacteria, such as Bacillus, have heat-resistant endospores or chlamydospores, which allow them to thrive in high temperatures and efficiently break down starch and proteins (Wang et al., 2022a).