One origin? (viral evolution)

[Thomas Lammers]

At 08:11 AM 7/20/01 -0600, you wrote:

>No, prokaryote and eukaryote refer to the nucleus.  Karyo means "nut", and
>that's what Hook and others thought it looked like.   "Eu" means "true", so
>the eukyaryotes have a "true nut" or true nucleus.

Well, of course the term refers to the nucleus, but the point is whether a
*cell* has a nucleus or not!  Who cares if non-cellular things have a
nucleus?  If we consider viruses to be prokaryotic, then so is a quartz
crystal or a diamond.  Not having a nucleus is really a moot point when you
don't have a cell membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes, or metabolism!



Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
Department of Biology and Microbiology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA

e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
phone:      920-424-1002
fax:           920-424-1101

Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and
biogeography of the Campanulaceae s. lat.

Webpages:
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/7156/lammers.html
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/herbarium/herbarium.html
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"Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that stood his ground."
                                                 -- Anonymous