Question

approximately 60% of human genes are also found in fruit flies. about 97.5% of human genes are also found in mice. what does this evidence suggest?

fruit flies have had more mutations and recombinations during their evolution than mice.
mice and fruit flies share a more recent common ancestor with each other than with humans.
humans and mice share a more recent common ancestor than do humans and fruit flies.
mice have had more mutations and recombinations during their evolution than fruit flies.

Explanation:

Analyze the genetic data

Using the Evidence of Evolution knowledge point

• Humans share approximately \(97.5\%\) of their genes with mice.
• Humans share approximately \(60\%\) of their genes with fruit flies.

Relate genetic similarity to evolutionary distance

Using the Evidence of Evolution knowledge point

• A higher percentage of shared genes indicates a closer evolutionary relationship.
• Therefore, humans and mice are more closely related than humans and fruit flies.

Determine common ancestry

Using the Evidence of Evolution knowledge point

• Closer evolutionary relationships mean a more recent divergence from a common ancestor.
• Thus, humans and mice share a more recent common ancestor than do humans and fruit flies.

Evaluate the given options

Using the Evidence of Evolution knowledge point

• Option 1 discusses mutation rates, which cannot be directly concluded from this percentage data alone.
• Option 2 suggests mice and fruit flies are closer to each other than to humans, which is not supported by comparing human-centric percentages.
• Option 3 states humans and mice share a more recent common ancestor than do humans and fruit flies, which directly aligns with our genetic similarity analysis.
• Option 4 discusses mutation rates, which is unsupported.

Answer:

• Fruit flies have had more mutations and recombinations during their evolution than mice.
• Mice and fruit flies share a more recent common ancestor with each other than with humans.
• Humans and mice share a more recent common ancestor than do humans and fruit flies. (Correct answer)
• Mice have had more mutations and recombinations during their evolution than fruit flies.