The Following Questions Refer to the Description Below

question 28

Multiple Choice

The following questions refer to the description below.
All animals with eyes or eyespots that have been studied so far share a gene in common. When mutated, the gene Pax-6 causes lack of eyes in fruit flies, tiny eyes in mice, and missing irises (and other eye parts) in humans. The sequence of Pax-6 in humans and mice is identical. There are so few sequence differences with fruit fly Pax-6 that the human/mouse version can cause eye formation in eyeless fruit flies, even though vertebrates and invertebrates last shared a common ancestor more than 500 million years ago.
-The appearance of Pax-6 in all animals with eyes can be explained in multiple ways. Based on the information above, which explanation is most likely?

• A)Pax-6 in all of these animals is not homologous; it arose independently in many different animal phyla due to intense selective pressure favouring vision.
• B)The Pax-6 gene is really not "one" gene. It is many different genes that, over evolutionary time and due to convergence, have come to have a similar nucleotide sequence and function.
• C)The Pax-6 gene was an innovation of an ancestral animal of the early Cambrian period. Animals with eyes or eyespots are descendants of this ancestor.
• D)The perfectly designed Pax-6 gene appeared instantaneously in all animals created to have eyes or eyespots.

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Definitions:

Contagious

Having a disease that can easily be transmitted to others.

Lesions

Abnormal changes or damage in body tissues, organs, or skin, often visible as sores or wounds.

Parasites

Species that reside within or on a host organism, obtaining their nourishment to the detriment of their host.

Worm Eggs

The reproductive cells produced by worms, which can be found in soil, water, or inside the bodies of host organisms, leading to the spread of worm infestations.