Arabidopsis thaliana is a small plant commonly known as the thale cress or mouse-ear cress and has approximately 25,000 genes. The human genome also contains approximately 25,000 genes, yet a human is clearly more complex than this plant. Both species

have introns in their genes. Formulate a hypothesis to explain why a human is more complex than Arabidopsis even though the human and the plant have a similar number of genes.

What will be an ideal response?


Alternative splicing can produce many more proteins than there are genes in a genome. Because an estimated 94 percent of human genes undergo alternative splicing, this probably leads to a wider variety of proteins in humans and to greater complexity.

Biology & Microbiology

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Which cells mature in the thymus gland?

a. T cells b. mast cells c. macrophages d. neutrophils e. eosinophils

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A true body cavity completely surrounded by ____ is called a coelom

a. ectoderm

b. mesoderm c. endoderm d. exoderm e. mesoglea

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All living organisms have evolved from a single common ancestor. The existence of which molecule lends the greatest support to this statement?

a. phospholipids b. ribosomal RNA c. transfer RNA d. DNA e. messenger RNA

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A haplotype is a group of tightly linked SNPs or genetic markers, and a haplogroup is a collection of haplotypes that came from a common ancestor.

Answer the following statement(s) true (T) or false (F)

Biology & Microbiology