Which of the following is true about how mitochondria were acquired by host cells? (1 point)

Question

• A bacteria cell was engulfed into a host cell through the process of phagocytosis.
• The cell's membrane folded inward, creating a pocket within itself called the mitochondria.
• A mitochondria cell's membrane folded outward, creating a larger cell around itself.
• A eukaryotic cell gave up its mitochondria to another cell through phagocytosis.

Answer 1

The correct statement about how mitochondria were acquired by host cells is:

• A bacteria cell was engulfed into a host cell through the process of phagocytosis.

This process is known as endosymbiosis, where an ancestral eukaryotic cell engulfed a prokaryotic cell (likely an alpha-proteobacterium), which eventually evolved into the mitochondria we find in eukaryotic cells today.