Mutations and rearrangements that occur by misalignment during DNA replication are frequent sources of genetic variation in bacteria. Dislocations between a replicating strand and its template at repetitive DNA sequences underlie the mechanism of these genetic events.
Cnidarians take on two basic forms, a medusa and a polyp. The medusa form is a free-swimming structure which consists of an umbrella-shaped body (called a bell), a fringe of tentacles that hang from the edge of the bell, a mouth opening located on the underside of the bell, and a gastrovascular cavity. The mesoglea layer of the medusa body wall is thick and jelly-like.
Many cnidarian species produce colonies that are single organisms composed of medusa-like or polyp-like zooids, or both. Cnidarians' activities are coordinated by a decentralized nerve net and simple receptors. Several free-swimming Cubozoa and Scyphozoa possess balance-sensing statocysts, and some have simple eyes.ossil cnidarians have been found in rocks formed about 580 million years ago, and other fossils show that corals may have been present shortly before 490 million years ago and diversified a few million years later. Fossils of cnidarians that do not build mineralized structures are very rare.