Concept explainers
To determine: The evolutionary factors that should be considered in debating whether or not the biological species concept can be applied to bacteria.
Introduction: Biological species concept (BSC) is a widely accepted concept for species. It defines the concept of species as a group of species whose members are capable of interbreeding but isolated from others on the basis of their reproductive abilities.
Explanation of Solution
Biological species link species to the evolution process as the interbreeding species share a common gene pool. The DNA recombination takes place instead of gene exchange between different species. This recombination results in the evolution of species. This concept helps to maintain the species uniformity, and it is applicable for large, complex creatures consisting of gametes.
In the single-celled organisms, such as bacteria, reproduction occurs mainly by asexual means. In bacteria, horizontal gene transfer takes place (transfer of genome from one bacterium to another). Since in this process, the only transfer of genetic material occurs, so it does not explain the evolutionary process, and therefore such species cannot be grouped together. The asexual reproduction bypasses the standard evolutionary process explained in the concept. Hence, the biological species concept (BSC) is not applicable to bacteria.
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Chapter 9 Solutions
Evolution
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