Comments on: Goodbye, E. coli? http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2011/07/08/goodbye-e-coli/ Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:13:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Gary Allan http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2011/07/08/goodbye-e-coli/#comment-16440 Gary Allan Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:32:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/?p=4745#comment-16440 As bacteria do not sexually reproduce and "species" is generally used to refer to sexual reproducers (that is 2 individuals are of the same species if they could, at least in principle, reproduce together or with another, in common), then bacteria, e Coli, are not speciated anyway. Since each bacteria goes its own way after it is created by fission, each bacterium no matter how like any other, is essentially a unique entity, its own "type". <strong>[CZ:While scientists certainly debate the nature of species among bacteria, I know of no experts who says there is no such thing as bacterial species (or "operational taxonomic units" as some prefer to call them). The authors of the paper use a fairly common concept for bacterial species: they treat frequent recombination among bacteria as an analog for sexual reproduction. Members of a bacteria species therefore engage in frequent recombination among themselves, and rarely do with other species. The rate of recombination in E. coli was high in the past, but low more recently. This could be evidence of speciation.]</strong> As bacteria do not sexually reproduce and “species” is generally used to refer to sexual reproducers (that is 2 individuals are of the same species if they could, at least in principle, reproduce together or with another, in common), then bacteria, e Coli, are not speciated anyway. Since each bacteria goes its own way after it is created by fission, each bacterium no matter how like any other, is essentially a unique entity, its own “type”.

[CZ:While scientists certainly debate the nature of species among bacteria, I know of no experts who says there is no such thing as bacterial species (or "operational taxonomic units" as some prefer to call them). The authors of the paper use a fairly common concept for bacterial species: they treat frequent recombination among bacteria as an analog for sexual reproduction. Members of a bacteria species therefore engage in frequent recombination among themselves, and rarely do with other species. The rate of recombination in E. coli was high in the past, but low more recently. This could be evidence of speciation.]

]]> By: Lucas http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2011/07/08/goodbye-e-coli/#comment-16439 Lucas Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:57:48 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/?p=4745#comment-16439 Thanks for the link Carl, I really appreciate it. It's a bit weird actually, because for this post, I actually went back to my copy of Microcosm, to brush up on my E. Coli knowledge.. So I thank you twice! Thanks for the link Carl, I really appreciate it.

It’s a bit weird actually, because for this post, I actually went back to my copy of Microcosm, to brush up on my E. Coli knowledge.. So I thank you twice!

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