| | 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 an evolutionary example of a population changing in response to environmental selective pressures.<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. | + | Since that time, Sp. K172 has been a central point of contention between the supporters of evolutionary theory and supporters of creation theory. |