Which feature is NOT common to plant, animal, and bacterial cells?

Which feature is NOT common to plant, animal, and bacterial cells?

• A. Mitochondria
• B. DNA
• C. Cytoplasm
• D. Cell membrane

Answer: (A)

The feature being tested is which cell component is missing in bacteria but present in plant and animal cells. Mitochondria are membrane-bound organelles that power eukaryotic cells by producing ATP through cellular respiration. Plants and animals have mitochondria, but bacteria—being prokaryotes—do not have any membrane-bound organelles like mitochondria. In contrast, DNA is present in all cells (though bacteria have a circular chromosome in the cytoplasm, not a nucleus), the cytoplasm fills the cell interior in all three, and the cell membrane is the enclosing boundary for all. So mitochondrial presence is not common to all three cell types.

The feature being tested is which cell component is missing in bacteria but present in plant and animal cells. Mitochondria are membrane-bound organelles that power eukaryotic cells by producing ATP through cellular respiration. Plants and animals have mitochondria, but bacteria—being prokaryotes—do not have any membrane-bound organelles like mitochondria. In contrast, DNA is present in all cells (though bacteria have a circular chromosome in the cytoplasm, not a nucleus), the cytoplasm fills the cell interior in all three, and the cell membrane is the enclosing boundary for all. So mitochondrial presence is not common to all three cell types.