Question

The genome of the bacterium E. coli contains 4.6 million (4.6 × 10^6) nucleotide pairs, whereas the human genome contains some 3200 × 10^6 nucleotide pairs. What can be concluded based on these numbers? Choose one:

A. E. coli are unicellular, whereas humans are multicellular.
B. Human cells are larger than E. coli cells.
C. Human cells have 700 times more genes than E. coli.
D. Humans are a more complex life-form than E. coli.
E. All of the above conclusions are drawn correctly.
F. None of the above conclusions are drawn correctly.

Answer 1

The correct conclusion from the genome sizes of E. coli and humans is that humans have a more complex genome, with 3200 million nucleotide pairs compared to E. coli's 4.6 million, distinguishing humans as a more complex life form (D). The number of genes does not correlate directly with genome size, which makes option C incorrect.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on the numbers given for the genome sizes of E. coli and humans, it can be concluded that humans have a more complex and larger genome than E. coli. The human genome contains about 3200 million nucleotide pairs compared to E. coli's 4.6 million nucleotide pairs. This difference indicates a greater complexity in human cells, which is reflected in the fact that humans are multicellular organisms with a variety of cell types and functions, whereas E. coli is a unicellular prokaryote. Also, humans, being eukaryotic, have multiple linear chromosomes and a genome size of 3 billion base pairs per haploid set, while E. coli, a prokaryote, has a much smaller, circular genome. Furthermore, the number of genes in an organism is not directly proportional to the size of its genome, making conclusion C incorrect. Hence, the correct answer is D, as it reflects the complexity and size of the respective genomes.