[neilep (OP)]

Hi Dna-ologists .


We apparently share 50% of our DNA with bannanas !  That's nice. When I look at the picture of Ben and his banana together I am convinced. I find it difficult to tell the difference between the two,




Ben and his banana just moments ago. Which is which ? I can't tell !!

So, which organisms have the least similar DNA ?

As a sheepy I of course share my DNA with clouds. we are 99.99999999999% the same. This is true because I said so.



So, can ewe think of a few organism's with such fundamentally  disparate and incongruous DNA ?

thank ewe

Neil
DNA Owner

[Halc]

When I look at the picture of Ben and his banana together I am convinced. I find it difficult to tell the difference between the two

I see a difference. The bananas need two condoms, and Ben doesn't need any because, well just look....

So, can ewe think of a few organism's with such fundamentally  disparate and incongruous DNA

I came up short on this.  I looked at a biological tree.

The banana and Ben are both close together there on the upper right, neighbors except for that fungus amongus.

So what was furthest away?  All that bacteria it seems, but then it comes down to how the difference is measured.
I mean, we have different number of chromosomes than most things, and all those of different lengths. How do you line them up and decide this one is shared and that one is not?  You pick a method of doing that and get around 50% for the banana.

But there apparently is this concept of a 'particular gene', and regardless of the volume of genetic literary works you gots, a thing has that gene or it doesn't. I think that's where the numbers come from.  So it turns out we have a bunch of genes (not a lot) that is unique only to humans and bacteria.  It wasn't carried up that tree pictured, else everything on the path would have it. So we share some unique genes with bacteria precisely because bacteria probably transferred it to us at some point in history. It was advantageous, so it spread to most/all of the species. It shows that genetic variation isn't accomplished only by random alterations to genes from say cosmic rays or something. They can be gifted.

[paul cotter]

Indeed Halc, on your last point: there is strong evidence that our mitochondria(which have their own dna) were originally intracellular bacteria of the Ehrlichia species.