Question

1. what is the difference in the structure of the enzyme rna polymerase between bacteria and archaea?

archaea’s rna polymerase has 4-5 subunits.

bacterial rna polymerase has 5-10 subunits.

archaea’s rna polymerase has 8-12 subunits.

bacterial rna polymerase has 10-20 subunits.

Explanation:

To solve this, we recall the structural differences of RNA polymerase in Bacteria and Archaea. Bacterial RNA polymerase (like in E. coli) has a core enzyme with 5 subunits (and a holoenzyme with an additional sigma factor, but the core is ~5, overall simpler). Archaeal RNA polymerase is more complex, similar to eukaryotic RNA polymerases, having 8 - 12 subunits. Let's analyze each option:

• Option 1: Archaea’s RNA polymerase does not have 4 - 5 subunits (too few, it's more complex), so incorrect.
• Option 2: Bacterial RNA polymerase does not have 5 - 10 subunits (bacterial core has ~5, holoenzyme ~6, not 5 - 10), incorrect.
• Option 3: Archaea’s RNA polymerase has 8 - 12 subunits (matches the known complexity, as archaeal RNA pol is more similar to eukaryotic, with more subunits), correct.
• Option 4: Bacterial RNA polymerase does not have 10 - 20 subunits (way too many, bacterial is simpler), incorrect.

Answer:

C. Archaea’s RNA polymerase has 8 - 12 subunits.