Final answer:
Digestive enzymes are prevented from digesting cellular components by compartmentalization, meaning they are localized within specific organelles such as mitochondria or lysosomes within the cell.
Step-by-step explanation:
What prevents digestive enzymes from digesting anything and everything in the cell? The answer is D. Compartmentalization. In eukaryotic cells, enzymes are compartmentalized into different organelles. This distinct separation allows for the precise regulation of enzyme activity. For example, enzymes involved in cellular respiration are found in the mitochondria, and those involved in digesting cellular debris are within lysosomes. By confining enzymes to specific locations within the cell, enzymes required for certain processes can act efficiently without affecting other cellular components or processes unnecessarily.