E. Coli’s mutating, its offspring not waiting
Approval from God or from man.
It’s digesting citrate and too late to negate
The process mutation began.

From simpler creations, contingent mutations
Make microbes become more diverse.
Like Jews eating bacon, E. Coli has taken
An action no one can reverse.

Long term observations of new generations
Have shown, after just twenty years
Some bugs changed their diet to doubter’s disquiet,
Confirming deniers’ worst fears.

Religious injunction against gain of function
Denies evolution, of course.
But each small mutation and slow transformation
Means bugs could evolve to a horse.

Bridge:

Mutation and snps in the past, (footnote 2)
Fixation so changes will last,
Substitution in ancient fish genes,
Evolution to walking sardines.

Verse:

Glucose’s position is now in transition
As E. Coli’s sole carbon source.
Tradition’s been broken without a word spoken,
Like change was a matter of course.

Each new alteration implies speciation
Will bid ancient practice adieu.
But flouting tradition earns mom’s admonition:
“Your own kids will do this to you.”

Stephen Baird, 2013, 2025

• See Richard Lenski, et al, Science 342, 15 November 2013, pp 790-793.  I had the privilege of singing this to Richard Lenski when he was on a visit to UCSD.  I think he liked it.
• Snp: single nucleotide polymorphism, when a gene has just one nucleotide mutation.