Table 32.1. Proposed Number of Hox Genes in Various Extant and Extinct Animals

-What conclusion is apparent from the data in Table 32.1?
A)Land animals have more Hox genes than do those that live in water.
B)All bilaterian phyla have had the same degree of expansion in their numbers of Hox genes.
C)Acoel flatworms should be expected to contain 7 Hox genes.
D)The expansion in number of Hox genes throughout vertebrate evolution cannot be explained merely by three duplications of the ancestral vertebrate Hox cluster.
E)Extant insects all have 7 Hox genes.

Question

Table 32.1. Proposed Number of Hox Genes in Various Extant and Extinct Animals
 
-What conclusion is apparent from the data in Table 32.1?
A)Land animals have more Hox genes than do those that live in water. 
B)All bilaterian phyla have had the same degree of expansion in their numbers of Hox genes. 
C)Acoel flatworms should be expected to contain 7 Hox genes. 
D)The expansion in number of Hox genes throughout vertebrate evolution cannot be explained merely by three duplications of the ancestral vertebrate Hox cluster. 
E)Extant insects all have 7 Hox genes.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The data in Table 32.1 shows that there is a varying number of Hox genes in different extant and extinct animals, and that the expansion in number of Hox genes throughout vertebrate evolution cannot be explained merely by three duplications of the ancestral vertebrate Hox cluster. Therefore, option D is the best choice. Options A, B, C, and E are incorrect because they misinterpret or do not logically follow from the data presented in the table.

Table 321 Proposed Number of Hox Genes in Various Extant and and Extinct