Evolution tests with bacteria

[chicken_boy]

Because Bacteria evolve far faster than humans, bacteria would be ideal for testing evolution. If you isolate one bacteria population from another after a while they should evolve into different species, right?

Actually, I have heard this test has already been carried out but is this true?

If so, how far has the isolated bacteria evolved? Have they evolved into different species and maybe even into different families of bacteria? Who knows, maybe even a different order or class?

If this hasn't been tested, why hasn't it? This is the best way to prove evolution beyond the species, genus, family, order, class ect. barrier because bacteria evolve far faster than we do. This will definitely shut the creationists and anti-evolutionists up.

[canalon]

Ma ke a litteratur search on the work of Richard Lenski. He did the experiment you relate. Last time I read the populations where still not far enough to be considered as different species. But the concept of species in bacteria is not exactly the clearest one... So maybe they already obtained a new species. But I fear the anti-evolutionist won't believe that. They will ask at least for the bacteria to change into a fully grown chimp or a woolly mammoth to accept that micro-evolution and macro-evolution (as they say) are indeed the same thing.

[mkwaje]

Interesting... since evolution may involve the application of a certain biotic or abiotic factors; then an experiment inducing the bacteria to become penicillin resistant, for example would lead to a generation of pen resistant bacteria. Is this classified as evolution? Change of traits? For human, for example, you become highly tolerant to extreme radiation, is it not a form of evolution. Bacteria can be induced to become radiation resistant by simply applying increasing radiation to a culture and cultivating the survivors.

[Sepals]

Because Bacteria evolve far faster than humans, bacteria would be ideal for testing evolution. If you isolate one bacteria population from another after a while they should evolve into different species, right?

Actually, I have heard this test has already been carried out but is this true?

If so, how far has the isolated bacteria evolved? Have they evolved into different species and maybe even into different families of bacteria? Who knows, maybe even a different order or class?

If this hasn't been tested, why hasn't it? This is the best way to prove evolution beyond the species, genus, family, order, class ect. barrier because bacteria evolve far faster than we do. This will definitely shut the creationists and anti-evolutionists up.

Nothing will shut them up. They're not interested in evidence.

Mutations happen spontaneously and as bacteria divide much sooner than animals reproduce any mutations that happens will show up sooner but I find in my job growing them on selective media makes the process quicker. I grow them on evans phosphate, nitrogen or carbon limited, which genetrates auxotrophs (phenotypes which only show up under certain conditions). Many similar experiments have been undertaken, these are available on google scholar. The mutations/strains will still be classed by the same taxonomy system as everything else.