The Question Refers to the Following Table, Which Compares the Percent

Multiple Choice

The question refers to the following table, which compares the percent sequence homology of four different parts (two introns and two exons) of a gene that is found in five different eukaryotic species. Each part is numbered to indicate its distance from the promoter (for example, Intron I is the one closest to the promoter) . The data reported for species A were obtained by comparing DNA from one member of species A to another member of species A.
% Sequence Homology
$$\begin{array} { | l | l | l | l | l |} \hline \text { Species } & \text { Intron I } & \text { Exon I } & \text { Intron VI } & \text { Exon V } \\\hline A & 100 \% & 100 \% & 100 \% & 100 \% \\\hline B & 98 \% & 99 \% & 82 \% & 96 \% \\\hline C& 98 \% & 99 \% & 89 \% & 96 \% \\\hline D & 99 \% & 99 \% & 92 \% & 97 \% \\\hline E & 98 \% & 99 \% & 80 \% & 94 \% \\\hline\end{array}$$
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Regarding these sequence homology data, the principle of maximum parsimony would be applicable in ________.

A) distinguishing introns from exons
B) determining degree of sequence homology
C) selecting appropriate genes for comparison among species
D) inferring evolutionary relatedness from the number of sequence differences