The following questions refer to this phylogenetic tree, depicting the origins of life and of the three domains. Horizontal lines indicate instances of gene or genome transfer.

-Which portion of this tree may ultimately be better depicted as a "ring"?
A)the bacterial lineage
B)the archaean lineage
C)the eukaryotic lineage
D)the weblike part near the base of the tree
E)the part corresponding to the first living cell on Earth

Question

The following questions refer to this phylogenetic tree, depicting the origins of life and of the three domains. Horizontal lines indicate instances of gene or genome transfer.
 
-Which portion of this tree may ultimately be better depicted as a "ring"?
A)the bacterial lineage 
B)the archaean lineage 
C)the eukaryotic lineage 
D)the weblike part near the base of the tree 
E)the part corresponding to the first living cell on Earth

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The web-like part near the base of the tree, where there is a lot of horizontal gene transfer between the different levels, may be better depicted as a "ring". This would reflect the complexity of the early stages of evolution, where genetic material was likely flowing freely between different organisms.

The Following Questions Refer to This Phylogenetic Tree, Depicting the Origins