A Hypothetical Bacterium Swims Among Human Intestinal Contents Until It

Multiple Choice

A hypothetical bacterium swims among human intestinal contents until it finds a suitable location on the intestinal lining. It adheres to the intestinal lining using a feature that also protects it from phagocytes, bacteriophages, and dehydration. Fecal matter from a human in whose intestine this bacterium lives can spread the bacterium, even after being mixed with water and boiled. The bacterium is not susceptible to the penicillin family of antibiotics. It contains no plasmids and relatively little peptidoglycan. The cell also lacks F factors and F plasmids. Which of the following statements about the bacteria is most probably accurate?

A) The bacterium cannot donate DNA through conjugation with another cell.
B) The bacterium cannot take up DNA from its external environment.
C) The bacterium cannot form an endospore.
D) The bacterium cannot reproduce.