[Campbell Biology P.618] Based on the provided text, which statement best describes horizont... | Practice Question

Based on the provided text, which statement best describes horizontal gene transfer HGT and its implications for the early history of life?

  • A: HGT only occurs in prokaryotes and primarily involves viral infections.
  • B: HGT is the vertical transmission of genes from parent to offspring, leading to a dichotomous branching tree.
  • C: HGT involves the transfer of genetic material between organisms not through reproduction, suggesting early life's history might be a tangled network.
  • D: HGT mainly explains why multicellular organisms like plants and animals are grouped in red type on phylogenetic trees.

Explanation

The text explicitly defines horizontal gene transfer as the movement of genetic material between organisms not through reproduction, and states that it leads biologists to consider the early history of life as a 'tangled network' rather than a simple dichotomously branching tree.