Why would natural selection favor reduced parasitic bacterial genomes?
A) The parasitic lifestyle eliminates metabolism, leading to gene loss.
B) Parasitic bacteria are primitive and never had metabolic genes.
C) Parasites have reduced metabolic needs, which leads to gene loss.
D) Transposons have caused mutagenesis and genes have been lost.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Parasites have a reduced metabolic need because they rely on their host for nutrients and energy. Therefore, natural selection would favor the loss of genes related to metabolism in parasitic bacterial genomes. This is known as genomic reduction, which is a common adaptation strategy for many parasitic organisms.

Why Would Natural Selection Favor Reduced Parasitic Bacterial Genomes