In the early 1980s scientists successfully inserted a human gene into the genome of the bacterium coli.

Question

Which statement best explains why this experiment was successful?

In the early 1980s scientists successfully inserted a human gene into the genome of the bacterium coli.
Which statement best explains why this experiment was successful?

Human cells eukaryotic, and E. coli cells are prokaryotic.

All living organisms share the same genome.

The genes for all organisms are composed of the same building blocks.

The human body contains many types of bacteria, including E. coli.

Answer 1

The statement that best explains why the experiment was successful is:

The genes for all organisms are composed of the same building blocks.

This is true because all DNA is made up of the same four nucleotide bases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine), which means that the basic machinery for reading and expressing those genes is conserved across different species, including between humans and bacteria like E. coli. This allows for the possibility of inserting and expressing human genes in a bacterial system.