During conjugation, one gene (A) is found to transfer to the recipient bacteria 26 minutes following the start of conjugation, while a second gene (M) is found to transfer 37 minutes following the start of conjugation. A third gene (T) transfers 45 minutes following the start of conjugation. Based on this information, which of the following is true?

a. All of the answers are correct

b. Genes A and M have a genetic distance of 11 minutes

c. Genes A and T have a genetic distance of 19 minutes

d. Genes M and t have a genetic distance of 8 minutes

e. The order of the genes is A M T

a. All of the answers are correct.

Explanation:

During conjugation a bacteria transfers it's genetic material to another bacteria. The genetic material has genes in a particular order so we can easily know the order of the genes through experimentation. The transfer of genes occurs as per the time allowed. If two genes are nearby then they will be transferred one after the other.

For example in the given question, gene A was transferred to recipient bacteria in 26 minutes, gene M was transferred in 37 minutes while gene T was transferred in 45 minutes, it simply means that the order of genes is A M T. Gene M was transferred to another bacteria after A was transferred because time required to transfer it is 37 minutes which is less than time required to transfer A which is 26 minutes. Gene T took maximum time to get transferred so it will be last to be transferred.

After calculation, we can easily infer that the genetic distance between A and M is 11 minutes (37 minutes - 26 minutes = 11 minutes). Similarly we can get genetic distance between A and T as 19 minutes and between M and T as 8 minutes. So all the given options are correct.