Another EXAMPLE of undeniable Complex DESIGN with a purpose:
"In 2008, it was 41. In 2012, it grew to 140. Now, the number is 262. What is it? It's the number of aromatic compounds that bacteria are known to synthesize. A new third-generation inventory of "terpene synthase" genes in bacteria has revealed widespread ability in simple microbes to manufacture complex organic compounds. Each chemical compound is backed by one or more genes that codes for an enzyme machine ("synthase") able to construct it.
What are terpenes? They are smelly organic compounds (the name is taken from turpentine), volatile molecules that organisms use for various functions. The distinctive odors in a forest and in the soil are largely due to these chemicals produced inside living cells. Most are made by plants and fungi, although termites, butterflies, and other insects manufacture terpenes, and some of the largest and most complex are made by animals. A 2007 paper in Nature Chemical Biology listed some of the functions of terpenes and wondered at how evolution created so many different organisms able to use them:
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his
eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been made,
so that people are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 NIV
"In 2008, it was 41. In 2012, it grew to 140. Now, the number is 262. What is it? It's the number of aromatic compounds that bacteria are known to synthesize. A new third-generation inventory of "terpene synthase" genes in bacteria has revealed widespread ability in simple microbes to manufacture complex organic compounds. Each chemical compound is backed by one or more genes that codes for an enzyme machine ("synthase") able to construct it.
As the largest class of natural products, terpenes have a variety of roles in mediating antagonistic and beneficial interactions among organisms. They defend many species of plants, animals and microorganisms against predators, pathogens and competitors, and they are involved in conveying messages to conspecifics and mutualists regarding the presence of food, mates and enemies. Despite the diversity of terpenes known, it is striking how phylogenetically distant organisms have come to use similar structures for common purposes. New natural roles undoubtedly remain to be discovered for this large class of compounds, given that such a small percentage of terpenes has been investigated so far.Now, the Japanese team has expanded that "striking" fact to bacteria, pushing the origin of the technology for synthesizing hundreds of complex compounds down into the simplest of organisms: bacteria. What's also astonishing is that bacteria produce some unique terpenes not known from higher organisms, such as plants and fungi." EN&V
