*Useful and predictive*? For something common sense and an understanding of variation within species can indicate.
Nobody has to accept species to species macro evolution to understand variation within species.
And understanding that does not by default demand an acceptance of the ToE.
It means that an infinitely creative Creator programmed it into life when He created it.
Which is it?
In the case of the citric acid metabolizing e.coli - it was obviously NOT there from the beginning. How could it have evolved when it could only de-evolve? When evolution isn't scientific.
It seems obvious you don't understand variation within a population (species) when you presuppose (despite the evidence) that all variation had to be created from the beginning by God.