The last common ancestor of fungi and animals was most likely a
A) colonial photosynthetic eukaryote.
B) multicellular photosynthetic eukaryote.
C) colonial photosynthetic prokaryote.
D) multicellular photosynthetic prokaryote.
E) single-celled eukaryote.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Fungi and animals both belong to the eukaryotic group of organisms, indicating that their last common ancestor was also a eukaryote. The fact that fungi are heterotrophic and cannot carry out photosynthesis suggests that their last common ancestor was not photosynthetic, ruling out choices A and B. Prokaryotes, like photosynthetic prokaryote and multicellular photosynthetic prokaryote (choices C and D), are phylogenetically distinct from eukaryotes, eliminating these choices as well. Therefore, the best choice is E, a single-celled eukaryote, as this is the most probable ancestor of both fungi and animals.

The Last Common Ancestor of Fungi and Animals Was Most