Which pair diverged longer ago from their common ancestor and why?

When comparing the sequences of a homologous gene in four different species, one pair of species shows a 1% difference, whereas the other pair shows a 3% difference.

A. The pair with a 1% difference; because a lower difference (1% instead of 3%) has occurred because the common ancestor is younger and more mutations occurred over a shorter amount of time.
B. The pair with a 1% difference would have an older common ancestor; A higher difference (1% instead of 3%) has occurred because the common ancestor is older and there has been more time to accumulate mutations.
C. The pair with a 3% difference would have an older common ancestor; A lower difference (3% instead of 1%) has occurred because the common ancestor is younger and there has been more time to accumulate mutations.
D. The pair with a 3% difference would have an older common ancestor; A higher difference (3% instead of 1%) has occurred because the common ancestor is older and there has been more time to accumulate mutations.
E. None of these are correct.


D. The pair with a 3% difference would have an older common ancestor; A higher difference (3% instead of 1%) has occurred because the common ancestor is older and there has been more time to accumulate mutations.

Biology & Microbiology

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