Conservation of amino acid sequence among distantly related groups of organisms is suggestive of an_______ .

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Conservation of amino acid sequence among distantly related groups of organisms suggests that the sequence is functionally important and therefore subject to selective pressure to maintain its structure and function. This supports the idea of convergent evolution and implies the existence of a common selective pressure that favored the retention of that sequence. A lack of common ancestor (choice A) would not explain the conservation of sequence, intrinsic resistance to mutation (choice C) would not be a likely explanation for the conservation of a sequence, and a lack of selective pressure (choice D) would not explain why the sequence is conserved in distantly related organisms.

Conservation of Amino Acid Sequence Among Distantly Related Groups of Organisms