Why is it difficult to apply the biological species concept

Last updated: 8/8/2022

Why is it difficult to apply the biological species concept to bacteria. Remember that bacteria definitely evolve, and do so rather rapidly. They absorb DNA from their environment that originates in lineages other than their own (transformation). They can be infected by bacteriophages which can transfer DNA from one bacterium to another. (transduction) Their active sharing of DNA (conjugation) is separate from their act of reproduction (binary fission). All of the above.