The Big Bang
Theory: Autotrophs versus
Heterotrophs
In the haploid
bread-mold Neurospora, wild-type autotrophs ("self feeders")
are able to grow on minimal medium containing only basic CHNOPS
salts (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and
sulfur). In contrast, mutant heterotrophs
are able to grow only when minimal media is supplemented
with one or more nutrients: something has affected their ability
to synthesize these substances. "Growth" and "No Growth"
on minimal medium are alternative phenotypes of the
heterotrophs.
HOMEWORK: The theme song for "The
Big Bang Theory" includes the lines:
The
whole Universe was in a hot dense state
And nearly 14 billion
years ago expansion started - Wait:
The Earth began to cool
The autotrophs began to
drool ....
Explain the
joke.