Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1-2
pubmed:dateCreated
1994-2-10
pubmed:abstractText
Molecular genetics, which has its roots mainly in the development of microbial genetics in the middle of this century, not only greatly facilitates investigations of essential cellular functions, but also offers a means to better understand evolutionary progress. Spontaneous mutagenesis, the driving force of biological evolution, depends on a multitude of mechanistically distinct processes, many of which are already quite well understood. Often, enzymes act as variation generators, and natural gene vectors help to spread functional domains, entire genes and groups of genes across natural isolation barriers. In this overview, particular attention is given to comparing three selected natural strategies for the generation of genetic diversity: nucleotide substitution, DNA rearrangements, and gene acquisition. All of these mechanisms, as well as many others, appear to fulfill their specific roles in microbial evolution. Rather than being the result of an accumulation of errors, biological evolution may depend on a multitude of specific biological functions, as well as on a certain degree of intrinsic structural flexibility of biological molecules.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0378-1119
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
135
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
49-56
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1993
pubmed:articleTitle
Evolution of prokaryotic genomes.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Microbiology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review