A nutrition researcher finds that placing young rats on a completely fat-free diet results in abnormal growth, unhealthy skin and fur, and a shortened lifespan. However, if the fat-free diet is supplemented with plant material, then the young rats show none of these symptoms.

Which of the following statements explain why plant material prevents the symptoms?

a. The plant material contains phytoestrogens that stimulate the synthesis of linoleate in the skin
b. Prostaglandin synthesis from linoleate requires inorganic cofactors found only in plant material
c. Ingesting plant material inoculates the rat gut with bacteria that synthesize linoleate
d. Linoleate is an essential fatty acid for animals and is commonly found in plant material
e. Plants express the enzymes required to synthesize linolea.2me

The correct option is d. Linoleate is an essential fatty acid for animals and is commonly found in plant material

Explanation:

Linoleate is a fatty acid molecule which is required by all animals in their diet for healthy growth.

Experimental results on cats and rats have shown that if animals are deprived of linoleate then we can see diverse effects such as hair loss in the animals, skin scaling, inability to heal wounds etc.

Plants contain linoleate which when consumed by animals provides many benefits to each type of animal.

that is wrong, its not thymus.

those characteristics are cellular organization, reproduction, metabolism, homeostasis, heredity, response to stimuli, growth and development, and adaptation through evolution. some things, such as a virus, demonstrate only a few of these characteristics and are, therefore, not alive