The following figure shows a mitochondrion,emphasizing its inner and outer membranes.

The inner membrane of the mitochondria is thought to have evolved from
A) a bit of plasma membrane from the early eukaryotic cell that engulfed a bacterium.
B) the membrane surrounding the lysosome that engulfed a bacterium,once it was inside an early eukaryotic cell.
C) the plasma membrane of a prokaryotic cell engulfed by an early eukaryotic cell.
D) infoldings of the plasma membrane of an early eukaryotic cell.

Question

The following figure shows a mitochondrion,emphasizing its inner and outer membranes.

The inner membrane of the mitochondria is thought to have evolved from
A) a bit of plasma membrane from the early eukaryotic cell that engulfed a bacterium. 
B) the membrane surrounding the lysosome that engulfed a bacterium,once it was inside an early eukaryotic cell. 
C) the plasma membrane of a prokaryotic cell engulfed by an early eukaryotic cell. 
D) infoldings of the plasma membrane of an early eukaryotic cell.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The inner membrane of the mitochondria has many similarities to the plasma membrane of prokaryotic cells, including the presence of enzymes involved in electron transport and ATP synthesis. It is believed that mitochondria originated from an endosymbiotic event in which an ancestral eukaryotic cell engulfed a free-living prokaryote, which eventually evolved into the mitochondrion. Therefore, the inner membrane of the mitochondria is thought to have evolved from the plasma membrane of the engulfed prokaryotic cell.

The Following Figure Shows a Mitochondrion,emphasizing Its Inner and Outer