Use the table to answer the question.
Proposed Number of Hox Genes in Various Extant and Extinct Animals

What conclusion can best be drawn from the data in the table?
A) Land animals have more Hox genes than do those that live in water.
B) All bilaterian phyla have had the same degree of expansion in their numbers of Hox genes.
C) The expansion in number of Hox genes throughout vertebrate evolution cannot be explained merely by three duplications of the ancestral vertebrate Hox cluster.
D) Extant insects all have seven Hox genes.

Question

Use the table to answer the question.
Proposed Number of Hox Genes in Various Extant and Extinct Animals

What conclusion can best be drawn from the data in the table?
A) Land animals have more Hox genes than do those that live in water. 
B) All bilaterian phyla have had the same degree of expansion in their numbers of Hox genes. 
C) The expansion in number of Hox genes throughout vertebrate evolution cannot be explained merely by three duplications of the ancestral vertebrate Hox cluster. 
D) Extant insects all have seven Hox genes.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The data shows a significant increase in the number of Hox genes in vertebrates compared to invertebrates, which supports the hypothesis that the expansion in numbering throughout vertebrate evolution cannot be explained by only three duplications of the ancestral vertebrate Hox cluster. The data does not support choices A, B, or D.

Use the Table to Answer the Question