title: Genetic exchange and evolutionary divergence in prokaryotes.
abstract: Recent work shows that genetic exchange in prokaryotes is less frequent but more promiscuous than that in eukaryotes. As a result, genetic exchange plays very different roles in determining the patterns of evolutionary divergence in these major groups. Because sexual isolation is not a prerequisite for divergence in the prokaryotic world, the biological species concept is not appropriate for bacteria. However, there is a species concept that may apply universally.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Biology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459-0170, USA.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Cohan