Evolution of Form and Function
To think that shape affects function – or form follows function – is an implicit assertion used ubiquitously throughout the evolution industry. This assumption, however, is untested. As an evolutionary biologist, Fouad El Baidouri (pictured right below) of the University of Lincoln, UK, explains –
“Despite a few pioneering attempts to link bacterial form and function, functional morphology is largely unstudied in prokaryotes [microbes].”
El Baidouri led a research team in a landmark study to test this long-standing assumption. Their report entitled “Independent evolution of shape and motility allows evolutionary flexibility in Firmicutes bacteria” was published in the journal of Nature, Ecology & Evolution last month.
Elizabeth Allen, of the University of Lincoln, in the article entitled “Reshaping our ideas of bacterial evolution,” published in the journal PhysOrg, explains –
“The shape of bacteria does not influence how well they can move – this is the surprising finding… The findings refute long-held theories that there should be a strong link between the evolution of shape in bacteria and their ability to move.”