Question #9e3f6
1 Answer
Superbugs illustrate the idea that the organisms best suited to the environment will survive and reproduce.
Explanation:
Superbugs are bacteria that have acquired a resistance to the presence of antibiotics.
Bacteria reproduce at an incredible rate most doubling the population every 20 minuets. One of the main points of natural selection is that organism have more offspring than can survive
Bacteria can share DNA even dead bacteria can have their DNA absorbed by living DNA that did not have that DNA in the original genome. Bacteria have a great deal of natural variation. This is another main point of natural selection. However the superbugs have a mutation resulting from a lost of DNA not a "natural selection"
There is a struggle for survival the so called survival of the fittest.
The superbugs are the most fit to survive in the environment that has the presence of antibiotics. However because of the loss of genetic material in the genome the superbugs are not the most fit in a normal environment. ( The Beak of The Finch pages 260-262)it
The best adapted organism survive a pass on their DNA to their offspring creating a change in the DNA of the overall population.
This change in the case of superbug results in a population of bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics. This has serious medical implications making diseases caused by the bacteria difficult to control.
Note this is natural selection but it is not evidence for Darwinian Evolution as it results in a loss of information not a gain in evolution as required by the theories of Darwinian and Neo Darwinian evolution.
