> Ed Rybicki is incorrect in assuming that bacteria are the most
primative
> organisms and everything evolves at the same rate.
Note: B-)
Of course bacteria are "more evolved" in that they have undergone
more generations than us, or whales - and the concept of "primitive"
or "advanced" is mainly in the head of the observer. BUT I never
stated everything evolves at the same rate, because it patently
obviously does not: longer generation times and shielding from UV
and other mutagenic radiation means deepsea organisms probably
evolve slower than obligate terrestrial thermophiles, for example.
Also, RNA viruses probably take the mutation rate record in that
RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is apparently up to 10exp5 times more
error-prone than DNA-dep DNA pol - and as I work on them, I may have
a bias, but I think viruses are the most advanced organisms on the
planet!
____________________________________________________________________
| Ed Rybicki, PhD | |
| (ed at micro.uct.ac.za) | "Lord, won't you buy me |
| Dept Microbiology | A Mer-ce-des Benz |
| University of Cape Town | My friends all have Porsches |
| | I must make amends..." | |
| Private Bag, Rondebosch | |
| 7700, South Africa | - Janis Joplin |
| fax: 27-21-650 4023 | (Pearl, 1971) |
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