this post was submitted on 06 May 2024
25 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Science

8644 readers
20 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.

Community Rules

Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.

Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.

Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.

Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.

Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.

Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.

Rule 7: Report violations.Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.

Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.

Rule 9: Source required for answers.Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.

By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
sabbah@lemmy.world
AradFort@lemmy.world
ken_cleanairsystems@lemmy.sdf.org
count_of_monte_carlo@lemmy.world
25
Do we have any estimates as to how long it takes for a species of bacteria to go technically extinct entirely via genetic drift? (lemmy.world)
submitted 6 months ago by JoshuaSlowpoke777@lemmy.world to c/askscience@lemmy.world
4 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

So, let’s say there’s a species of bacteria that is known to dwell in Greek yogurt. How long would it take before that species of yogurt-dweller only has modern descendants different enough to qualify as one or more new species?

top 4 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 15 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Speciation is really a judgment call. We don't really have objective criteria that says "99% or more genetic similarity is the same species".

But that assumes that there is evolution happening in the first place. Plenty of organisms are quite happily living in the same form as they did hundreds of millions of years ago. The nautilus, for example, evolved about 500 mya, and remains largely unchanged today (though many of its siblings are extinct, and the nautilus itself is endangered). For simpler organisms, you can probably find examples much older.

Edit: forgot to answer your question directly. It could be never.

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

If I could add, it's likely impossible to say, because evolution is driven by selection pressures.

If the original strain AA has descendent strains AA, AB, and AC, we can't know with any certainty which is more fit to survive, because it could be one, two, or all of them simultaneously.

Edit: typo

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yes, natural selection isn't really survival of the fittest, it's survival of the good enough.

(Also I assume you meant descendant; decedent is someone who is deceased.)

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 2 points 6 months ago

Ah, goddamn autocorrect! Yes, that's what I meant.