A bacterial phylum is a group of organisms that share a common ancestor that diverged early from other bacteria, based on
A) small-subunit (16S) rRNA sequences.
B) the presence of certain plasmids.
C) their genomic size.
D) having 70S or 80S ribosomes.
E) the presence or absence of a cell wall.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Bacterial phyla are typically defined based on phylogenetic analysis of small-subunit (16S) rRNA sequences. This is because the 16S rRNA gene is highly conserved across all bacteria and possesses both variable and conserved regions that can be used to infer evolutionary relationships between different bacterial groups.

A Bacterial Phylum Is a Group of Organisms That Share