Direction One: Hairy Monster
Add a trace of trehalose and Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate
One ten-thousandth of the No. 1 Bacteria population would evolve double flagella. The dense flagella would increase the No. 1 Bacteria's mobility, increase energy consumption, and reduce the risk of bursting.
Song He's mind raced, and in an instant he imagined bacilli covered in hair.
Flagella were mobile structures, equivalent to the No. 1 Bacteria growing more legs. With legs running back and forth all over their bodies, the extra nutrients they ate would be consumed, making them less likely to swell and burst to death.
But there was also a potential danger. The No. 1 Bacteria's mobility would improve, and so would their speed at finding food. They might eat even more and still swell until they burst!
He hurriedly looked down at the other two evolutionary directions.
Direction Two: Tough Skin and Thick Flesh
Add a trace of Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate, mannose, and lactose
One fifty-thousandth of the No. 1 Bacteria population would produce a small amount of hemicellulose. The hemicellulose would mix with the Peptidoglycan to form an entirely new cell wall. The new cell wall would be tougher and thicker, supporting the No. 1 Bacteria's bodies as they expanded to four times their original size.
Song He stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.
E. coli's cell wall consisted only of Peptidoglycan. As for hemicellulose cell walls, those were something only plant cells had.
Could the No. 1 Bacteria actually have the potential to move closer to plants?
Wasn't he biting off more than he could chew? Oh, right. Bacteria didn't have eggs.
Direction Three: Diarrhea
Add a trace of Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate
One thousandth of the No. 1 Bacteria population would evolve a diarrhea mechanism. When there were too many nutrients