A model of the theory of endosymbiosis is shown here. It is an explanation for the presence of chloroplasts and mitochondria as organelles that might have had an origin as free-living prokaryotic cells at one time. Evaluate each statement below and select the ones that accurately describe how evolution and endosymbiosis gave rise to life on earth as we know it today. Choose all that apply.
A) The theory suggests that chloroplasts and mitochondria were once independent prokaryotic organisms.
B) Endosymbiosis explains the diversity of eukaryotic cells.
C) Evolutionary processes led to the engulfment of prokaryotic cells by larger host cells.
D) Endosymbiosis proposes that chloroplasts and mitochondria lost their ability to function independently over time.
