Question

genomes of three different organisms were sequenced. each organism represents one of the three domains of life as indicated in the top row of the table. a comparison of the genomes revealed some regions of overlap between the organisms. three regions, labeled 1 through 3 in the table, show overlap between at least two organisms as indicated by checkmarks. of the three cases shown, which is/are most likely due to lateral gene transfer?
1
2
3
both 1 and 2

Explanation:

Lateral gene - transfer involves the transfer of genetic material between organisms other than by vertical inheritance. Regions 1 and 2 show overlap between two different domains of life (Archaean - Eukaryote and Bacterium - Eukaryote), which is more likely to be due to lateral gene - transfer rather than common vertical inheritance. Region 3 is shared among all three domains and is more likely to be a conserved ancestral sequence.

Answer:

Both 1 and 2