The Figure Shown Demonstrates the Genotypic Adaptive Landscape for Bacteria

Multiple Choice

The figure shown demonstrates the genotypic adaptive landscape for bacteria growing in media without antibiotics. The height of the bars associated with a genotype indicates the fitness of that genotype. The R allele confers resistance to antibiotics, and the C allele compensates for the loss of fitness that the R allele confers in the absence of antibiotics. The rc haplotype lacks both compensation and resistance. Based on this landscape, why are resistance and compensation unlikely to be lost even in the absence of antibiotics?

A) A lack of mutation will prevent the haplotypes from changing.
B) Epistasis will maintain haplotype frequencies.
C) Haplotype frequencies do not change in Hardy-Weinberg populations.
D) RC populations are stuck on a local maximum.