Molecular biology = micromorphology

[Richard.Zander at MOBOT.ORG]

My understanding is that some molecular data is equivalent to morphology in
being subject to evolutionary pressures, but other data (non-coding DNA) are
not traits of the organism but are supposedly randomly generated mutations
that are segregated on speciation. The speciation has to do with the coding
mutations not the non-coding mutations. The latter track events of genetic
isolation.

______________________
Richard H. Zander
Bryology Group, Missouri Botanical Garden
PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299 USA
richard.zander at mobot.org <mailto:richard.zander at mobot.org>
Voice: 314-577-5180;  Fax: 314-577-0828
Websites
Bryophyte Volumes of Flora of North America:
http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/bfna/bfnamenu.htm
Res Botanica:
http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/resbot/index.htm
Shipping address for UPS, etc.:
Missouri Botanical Garden
4344 Shaw Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63110 USA


-----Original Message-----
From: Robin Leech [mailto:releech at TELUSPLANET.NET]
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2005 10:47 AM
To: TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU
Subject: Re: [TAXACOM] New Squamate classification


The real irony is that molecular biology is still morphology,
micromorphology.
Anything we do that sets up characters or characteristics
for distinguishing one thing from another is morphology.
Robin Leech