Re: Rule for Reproduction Rate?

From: Tom Hendricks (tomhendricks474_at_cs.com)
Date: 03/12/05 

Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 00:16:51 -0500 (EST)

IRR wrote:
> <TomHendricks474@cs.com> wrote in message
> news:d0e4v1$5ki$1@darwin.ediacara.org...
> > Does anyone know of a rule for reproduction rate
> > that says that replication speeds up with environmental
> > temperatures?
>
> Despite what you might try to extrapolate from enzyme kinetics, there
is no
> such 'rule' in a strict sense, only organism-specific local maxima
along
> temperature gradients mostly reflecting niche adaptation. In other
words,
> organisms (particularly prokaryotes) replicate fastest at the
temperature
> they're adapted to, and there's no global trend corresponding to
> temperature. In fact, some of the most prolific hyperthermophiles
yet
> discovered (e.g. Lidy hot springs) are among the slowest growing
organisms
> known.

There may be more to this. Are you talking about anhydrobiosis?
That would not be an exception to the rule, because that is a reaction
to lack of water which would be the major cause of slow replication
rates.

And remember I had the caveat of saying ' all other things being
similar' - and
lack of water would not be similar - it would be a major difference.

In general I would ask if you know of any
thermophiles living in the liquid water range,
that reproduce more slowly (all other necessities to
life being the same) than say bacteria surviving in the coldest
environments
in the liquid water range.

Tom

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Rule for Reproduction Rate?
    ... > that says that replication speeds up with environmental ... temperature gradients mostly reflecting niche adaptation. ... discovered are among the slowest growing organisms ... In these cases it seems replication may be slave to Prigogine -- selection ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
  • Re: Rule for Reproduction Rate?
    ... >> temperature gradients mostly reflecting niche adaptation. ... > lack of water would not be similar - it would be a major difference. ... > thermophiles living in the liquid water range, ... > in the liquid water range. ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
Loading