A human disease termed cardioencephalomyopathy results from a genetic change in the normal function of mitochondria. Babies who are born with the disease generally die from it. Scientists who study this disease using a bacterium known as Paracoccus denitrificans. Scientists were able to produce the same change in the bacterium’s genes that they found in the mitochondria of their human patients. What is the BEST explanation for why scientists can use a bacterium to study this human disease?

A
The genes and chemical pathways found in bacteria are similar to those in human mitochondria.
B
The eukaryotic cells of humans share many characteristics with bacterial cells, including single stranded DNA.
C
Bacteria can be used as a model to study more complex cells.
D
Bacterial genes are very similar in structure to human genes.