The foxglove plant, seen in the illustration, produces very toxic chemicals that can cause serious illness and death in any orga
nisms that eats the plant. Why do scientists think the foxglove plant evolved such powerful poisons? A) The poisons function to kill invading bacteria and other pathogens that may harm the plant.
B) The poisons maximize the efficiency of the photosynthetic process, allowing the plant to make more food.
C) The poisons discourage any animal from eating the plant, preventing damage to the plant from herbivores.
D) Poisons are likely to be the product of genetic mutations in the DNA of the plant and do not have any useful function.
Scientists believe that the poisons discourage any animal from eating the plant, preventing damage to the plant from herbivores. Foxglove plants evolved to produce the toxic chemicals as a means of defense against animals that may eat the plant.
Phototaxis (phototactic response) is the cellular behavior in which cells swim toward or away from the light source. The euglena have eyespots that detect light so that it can move toward sunlight for photosynthesis.
Between carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, DNA and RNA molecules most accurately fall under the macromolecular category of nucleic acids.
