Question

Indicate whether the following statements are true or false. If the statement is false, explain why it is false.

A. The human genome is roughly 30 times larger than the Arabidopsis genome, but contains approximately the same number of protein-coding genes.
B. The variation in genome size among protozoans is larger than that observed across all species of mammals, birds, and reptiles.
C. The vast majority of our genome encodes functional RNA molecules or proteins and most of the intervening DNA is nonfunctional.

Answer 1

Statement A is false. The Arabidopsis genome has more protein-coding genes than the human genome. Statement B is true. Protozoans have larger variation in genome size than mammals, birds, and reptiles. Statement C is false. The majority of the human genome does not encode functional RNA molecules or proteins.

Step-by-step explanation:

Statement A is false. While the human genome is larger than the Arabidopsis genome, it does not contain the same number of protein-coding genes. The Arabidopsis genome has approximately 25,000 protein-coding genes, while the human genome has around 20,000 to 22,000 protein-coding genes.

Statement B is true. The variation in genome size among protozoans is indeed larger than that observed across all species of mammals, birds, and reptiles. Protozoans can have genomes that are significantly larger than those of mammals, birds, and reptiles.

Statement C is false. The vast majority of the human genome does not encode functional RNA molecules or proteins. In fact, only about 1.5% of the human genome consists of protein-coding genes. The rest of the genome is involved in various regulatory functions and contains noncoding DNA.