Why are microsporidia so hard to classify?

Question

A.  When compared to other eukaryotic organisms, microsporidia are extremely small.
B.  The intracellular parasitic lifestyle greatly reduces the need for functional organelles.
C.  They lack nuclei.
D.  They are very rare.

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
What type of thinking is required?

Gather Content
What do you already know about microsporidia? What other information is related to the question?

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?

Answer 1

B.  The intracellular parasitic lifestyle greatly reduces the need for functional organelles.

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · This question is asking about the nature of microsporidia as it relates to their classification.
What type of thinking is required?
        · Apply level:
            o You are being asked to take what you already know and use, or apply, it to the classification of microsporidia.

Gather Content
What do you already know about microsporidia? What other information is related to the question?
        · Microsporidia are unicellular parasites that utilize a variety of creatures as their hosts.
        · Microsporidia are associated with human disease.
        · Mitochondria are absent in microsporidians; they utilize anaerobic respiration.

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        · Their unicellular nature and small size are not factors in the difficulty of classifying microsporidia.
        · As eukaryotes, microsporidia do have nuclei.
        · Microsporidia are not rare.
        · The lack of organelles like mitochondria are a factor in the classification of the microsporidia.

Reflect on Process Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        · Apply level:
            o Answering this question correctly depended on your ability to use microsporidia in a new situation. If you got an incorrect answer, did you remember that microsporidia lack mitochondria, or that they utilize anaerobic respiration? Did you have trouble extending the characteristics of microsporidia to determine the correct answer?