I might suggest that you review the data from the large scale mutagenesis
projects. The Drosphila project is probably one of the best known ... but
for vertebrate examples there is the zebrafish mutagenesis screen. Review
these creatures ... and decide which one have produced "positive
mutations". I personally like the classic fly antennepedia mutant ...
surely the ability of a fly to walk on its head is advantagous *grin* ...
maybe it could join a flea circus.
Cris
On 18 Nov 1996, Ed Rybicki wrote:
> > To: mol-evol at net.bio.net> > From: Jeff Bush <jbush at afit.af.mil>
> > Subject: Re: Anyone Seen Evolution?
> > Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 17:02:34 -0500
>> Jeff trawled...
>> >... My question was pointing at *observing* a
> > benifitial mutation in the genetic code.
>> sp: beneficial B-)
>> And yes, if you take BK virus (a polyomavirus) out of the urine of
> immunosuppressed patients, and cycle it in tissue culture (in which
> it initially refuses to grow), checking it frequently by PCR and
> sequencing, you will find that tissue culture-adapted mutants arise,
> all of which independently have rearranged their "control regions".
> In other words, the viruses mutate at a hot-spot, and the ones which
> are viable come through. VERY beneficial, for the virus. And can be
> found in the lit in J Virol by Rubinstein and Harley some years ago.
>> So sorry, Jeff, one can and does observe beneficial mutations.
> Another is the one(s) which allow Mycobacterium tuberculosis (causes
> TB) to become resistant to certain antibiotics - and yes, one can
> prove it is mutation and not pre-existing sequence by PCRing the
> gene(s) in question before and after seeing the resistance arise in
> culture, making a library, and looking for it/them.
>> Back to the Book, Jeff....
>>>> Ed Rybicki, PhD
> Dept Microbiology | ed at molbiol.uct.ac.za> University of Cape Town | rybicki at uctvms..uct.ac.za> Private Bag, Rondebosch | phone: x27-21-650-3265
> 7700, South Africa | fax: x27-21-689 7573
> WWW URL: http://www.uct.ac.za/microbiology/ed.html>> "Out here on the perimeter, there are no stars..."
>>
