| | Sp. K172, a strain of Flavobacterium, is a species of '''nylon-eating bacteria''' discovered in ponds that contained factory waste. What made this [[bacteria]] significant was that the enzymes they used to digest the factory waste (now known as nylonase) were unique to the particular strain.<ref>Kinoshita, S., Kageyama, S., Iba, K., Yamada, Y. and Okada, H. 1981</ref> | | Sp. K172, a strain of Flavobacterium, is a species of '''nylon-eating bacteria''' discovered in ponds that contained factory waste. What made this [[bacteria]] significant was that the enzymes they used to digest the factory waste (now known as nylonase) were unique to the particular strain.<ref>Kinoshita, S., Kageyama, S., Iba, K., Yamada, Y. and Okada, H. 1981</ref> |
| − | Since that time, Sp. K172 has been a central point of contention between the supporters of evolutionary theory and supporters of creation theory. The former believe it is proof that random mutation and natural selection can add information to a genome. The latter claim that the bacteria have some way to adjust to new food sources without needing to evolve. | + | Since that time, Sp. K172 has been a central point of contention between the supporters of evolutionary theory and supporters of creation theory. The former believe it is proof that random mutation and natural selection can add information to a genome.<ref>http://www.nmsr.org/nylon.htm</ref> The latter claim that the bacteria have some way to adjust to new food sources without needing to evolve. |