Which characteristic best distinguishes fungi from animals?

• A. Fungi have cell walls made primarily of chitin, whereas animals lack cell walls.
• B. Fungi perform photosynthesis using chloroplasts, whereas animals obtain energy by ingesting food.
• C. Fungi store their genetic material as circular DNA in the cytoplasm, whereas animals store DNA in a nucleus.
• D. Fungi are prokaryotic organisms, whereas animals are eukaryotic organisms.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the key characteristics of fungi and animals. Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that have distinct cellular structures compared to animals.
2. Step 2: Recall that fungi have cell walls, which provide structural support and protection. The main component of fungal cell walls is chitin, a strong, flexible polysaccharide.
3. Step 3: Compare this to animals, which do not have cell walls. Instead, animal cells have only a plasma membrane and rely on other structures for support.
4. Step 4: Evaluate the other options: fungi do not perform photosynthesis and lack chloroplasts; both fungi and animals store genetic material in a nucleus (they are eukaryotes); fungi are not prokaryotic, they are eukaryotic like animals.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the presence of chitin-based cell walls in fungi, which animals lack, is the best distinguishing characteristic between these two groups.