A researcher exposes a bacterial culture to UV radiation and then subjects it to progressively higher temperatures. As the temperature increases, the bacteria have a progressively harder time surviving. Analysis of the dead bacteria reveals large amounts of misfolded, aggregated proteins compared to wild-type control bacteria exposed to the same temperature increase. Which of the following is a plausible explanation for the data? A. The ribosomes are mutated and are non-functional.
B. The initiator tRNA (fMet) has been mutated and is non-functional.
C. Molecular chaperones have been mutated.
D. DNA polymerase is mutated and non-functional.