Question

A hypothetical bacterium swims among human intestinal contents until it finds a suitable location on the intestinal lining. It adheres to the intestinal lining using a feature that also protects it from phagocytes, bacteriophages, and dehydration. Fecal matter from a human in whose intestine this bacterium lives can spread the bacterium, even after being mixed with water and boiled. The bacterium is not susceptible to the penicillin family of antibiotics. It contains no plasmids and relatively little peptidoglycan. This bacterium derives nutrition by digesting human intestinal contents. Thus, this bacterium is an ________.A) aerobic chemoheterotrophB) aerobic chemoautotrophC) anaerobic chemoheterotrophD) anaerobic chemoautotroph

Answer 1

The correct answer is option C, that is, anaerobic chemoheterotroph.

Step-by-step explanation:

Chemoautotrophs refer to the organisms, which can produce energy by oxidation of inorganic components found in the environment. They utilize inorganic components as the source of energy. They produce organic compounds by fixing carbon dioxide from the surrounding.

On the other hand, chemoheterotrophs consume and digest organic components from the surroundings. However, they use inorganic compounds as a source of energy. The intestinal bacterium attains its carbon sources by digesting the food components found in the intestine. Thus, it is most probably a chemoheterotroph as it can dissociate down the organic compounds found in the food.

The mentioned bacteria are anaerobic in nature, as it can survive easily in an extremely harsh environment of intestines, and are also resistant to high temperatures.