Question

review the passage about the effects of the cmaco1 gene mutation.
in plants such as the european cantaloupe, fruit ripening is affected by a substance called ethylene (eth-uh-leen). ethylene is made inside a plant’s cells with the help of a protein called cmaco1. the cmaco1 protein is encoded by the cmaco1 gene.
a certain european cantaloupe plant had a mutation in its cmaco1 gene. compared to the cmaco1 gene without a mutation, the mutated cmaco1 gene encoded a form of the cmaco1 protein with a different structure.
this different form of the cmaco1 protein could make only a small amount of ethylene. the fruits of this plant took longer to ripen than fruits from plants containing more ethylene. farmers found this mutation useful because the fruit stayed good for a longer period of time after harvest.
complete the sentence.
the mutation caused the cmaco1 gene to encode a form of the cmaco1 protein that made only a small amount of ethylene. so, fruits from the cantaloupe plant ripened ______ than fruits from plants containing more ethylene.
more quickly
more slowly

Explanation:

The passage states that the mutated gene makes less ethylene, and fruits of this plant take longer to ripen than those with more ethylene. So the key is to understand the relationship between ethylene amount and ripening speed.

Answer:

more slowly