The property which is present non universally in all organism
Answers
where
Life=Cell
Cell sums up to tissues
Tissues sums up to organs
organs sums up to organisms
organisms sums up to Universe.
Hi!! as your question asks for the most prominent defining feature of living organisms, the answer is undoubtedly CONSCIOUSNESS . Therefore, giving basic points like growth, reproduction, metabolism is not a good idea as they all have exceptions i.e. non-living organisms also show these features.
Growth: Mountains, sand dunes etc. also show growth (extrinsic growth), therefore, growth can't be a defining feature of living organisms. Intrinsic growth can however be considered as one.
Reproduction: All living beings reproduce but the infertile couples and hybrid organisms such as Liger and Tigon can’t produce their young ones in natural conditions.
Metabolism: Every living organism’s body shows metabolic reactions but those reactions can also occur in artificial conditions such as a test tube in a laboratory. Hence, the reactions are living but the test tube is not. So, metabolism also cannot be considered as a defining feature.
CONSCIOUSNESS: Now this is what every one of us can feel in a living being. This is the idea which all of us have in their sub-conscious mind to distinguish a living being from a non-living thing. This feature is present in every living form ranging from the simplest archaebacteria to the most advanced- Homo sapiens.
It means that every living being is aware of the chemicals that enter its body, environmental stimulus and its subsequent response and interaction with the surroundings.
I hope you got your answer.