A population of mosquitoes is exposed to the pesticide DDT for several generations. At the end of that time, most individuals in the population are resistant to DDT. The MOST likely reason is that:

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The most likely reason that individuals in the population are resistant to DDT is that some individuals in the original population had the mutations that led to resistance. Resistance to a pesticide would not likely arise through somatic mutations, as such mutations are not passed on to subsequent generations. While chance mutations could have contributed to resistance, it is unlikely that this would have occurred with such consistency over multiple generations. Finally, while DDT may have caused mutations in the mosquitoes, it is unlikely that these would have consistently led to DDT resistance.

A Population of Mosquitoes Is Exposed to the Pesticide DDT