2007-02-12 18:06:13 · 2 answers · asked by renee 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Actually it's not that simple. Breeding distinction only works for organisms that reproduce sexually, and not very well at that. Plants can do all sorts of cross-species breeding, and some animals can as well.
The species concept is defined by the researchers who work with the organisms, that is to say virologists decide what is a viral species, bacteriologists decide what is a bacterial species, etc....
For viruses and bacteria DNA homology is a key deciding factor, for mammals, reproductive isolation works reasonably well. In the future, I suspect most species designations will be based on DNA data.
2007-02-13 05:11:27 · answer #1 · answered by floundering penguins 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A species consists of organisms that are so closely related that they can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
2007-02-12 18:09:25 · answer #2 · answered by ecolink 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋