Which of the following pieces of evidence would best demonstrate that a bacterium found on an asteroid originated in outer space?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The presence of right-handed amino acids in the bacterium's proteins is a signature of extraterrestrial origin because on Earth, all known life forms use left-handed amino acids exclusively. This suggests that the bacterium must have evolved elsewhere in the universe and was transported to Earth via an asteroid. The presence of volcanic ash on the outside of the bacterial cell (choice A) may indicate that the bacterium originated from the Earth and was carried to space on a volcanic eruption. The absence of common gases found in Earth's atmosphere (choice B) may suggest that the bacterium is not adapted to Earth's atmospheric conditions, but it does not provide evidence that it originated from outer space. The absence of hydrogen bonds between water molecules in the bacterial cell (choice D) is not a reliable marker of extraterrestrial origin since it does not distinguish between Earth-based and off-world microbial sources.

Which of the Following Pieces of Evidence Would Best Demonstrate