cs4l3az@maccs.UUCP (....Jose) (04/05/88)
In article <764@actnyc.UUCP> gcf@actnyc.UUCP (Gordon Fitch) writes: >would have indefinitely many genes.) So "neutral" genes would be at >least moderately negative when the cost of storing and processing >the information was thrown in, and would be eliminated before long. "Neutral" genes can cause two problems: 1) They are additional sites for harmful mutations to occur 2) Their presence in the cell means the organism has to replicate the DNA and segregate the copies into the daughter cells, and the more DNA there is the greater the chance that material will end up on the wrong chromosome or in the wrong cell. Over time, then, organisms which didn't have these added sites for mutaion should have a greater chance for reproduction. There is an advantage to having this excess genetic baggage, as some of it may be duplicate copies of important genes... sort of like the back up files you like to keep around, even if they do take up alot of valuable space on your hard drive..... ....Jose ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Fighting for Truth, Justice ....Jose Hachezero and whatever might seem like Department of Biochemistry fun at the time" McMaster University cs4l3az@maccs ------------------------------------------------------------------------