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Viral evolution (for some strains) is much faster than that of bacterial evolution, if by "evolution" you mean mutation frequency. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by carbocation 10y ago
Viral evolution (for some strains) is much faster than that of bacterial evolution, if by "evolution" you mean mutation frequency.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC46468/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC46468/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3342999/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3342999/
- tgb 10y agoInteresting, thanks. Is there an explanation of why?
- danieltillett 10y agoThe rate of evolution is proportional to the population size. For every bacteria there are around 10 phages.
- arrosenberg 10y agoBroadly speaking, most viruses have no mechanism to control mutations other than becoming inactive/nonfunctional. Some bacteria are also like this, in that they can tolerate a high mutation rate without going extinct, while other bacteria have rudimentary control mechanisms that slow their mutation rate in favor of higher survivability and specialization.