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Difficulty: MediumSingle-Sentence Inferences

Although evolutionary biologists long held that genetic mutations driving adaptive traits arise entirely at random prior to environmental exposure, recent studies of epigenetically inherited stress responses in marine invertebrates suggest that environmental stressors can systematically alter chromatin structure in parental germ cells, thereby pre-adapting subsequent generations to specific ecological pressures without modifying the underlying DNA sequence.

Which of the following is most strongly supported by the statement above regarding the recent studies of marine invertebrates?

  1. A
    Environmental stressors cause direct, permanent modifications to the underlying DNA sequence in parental germ cells.
  2. Subsequent generations can acquire pre-adaptive traits suited to environmental pressures without any change occurring in their underlying DNA sequence.Answer
  3. C
    Traditional evolutionary theories regarding random genetic mutations have been completely disproven for all living organisms.
  4. D
    Evolutionary biologists have unanimously abandoned the view that adaptive mutations occur prior to environmental exposure.
  5. E
    Marine invertebrates are the only organisms capable of epigenetically transmitting adaptive stress responses to offspring.

Answer

Subsequent generations can acquire pre-adaptive traits suited to environmental pressures without any change occurring in their underlying DNA sequence.
The correct answer directly restates the core inference of the sentence: environmental stressors alter chromatin structure to pre-adapt offspring to specific pressures while explicitly keeping the underlying DNA sequence unmodified.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the core premise and qualifying clauses of the target sentence.
The sentence states that environmental stressors alter parental chromatin structure, pre-adapting future generations to ecological pressures 'without modifying the underlying DNA sequence'.
Single-sentence inference requires extracting deductions strictly bounded by the explicit text.
2
Evaluate the correct statement against the text.
The statement that offspring can be pre-adapted without changes to their underlying DNA sequence matches the clause 'without modifying the underlying DNA sequence'.
Valid inferences must be necessary logical consequences of the provided sentence.

Key Concept

Single-Sentence Logical Inference
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Single-Sentence Inferences

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