Biology

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

2,010 Questions

Genetic engineering and biotechnology involve modifying organism DNA to develop transgenic crops, medical treatments, and industrial solutions. This field covers essential techniques like hybridoma technology, molecular markers, and gene transfer in eukaryotic cells. These biology topics are essential for aspirants preparing for various competitive examinations.

Genetic engineering techniquesTransgenic organismsIndustrial biotechnologyGMOs and bioremediation

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Questions

Multiple choice

Hybridomas are employed to

  1. kill cancer cells

  2. produce somatic hybrids

  3. synthesize antibiotics

  4. synthesize monoclonal antibodies
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Hybrid cells formed by fusion of B-cells and myeloma cells to produce monoclonal antibodies.

Multiple choice

Hybridoma technology is used for

  1. development of hybrid varieties of plants

  2. development of hybrid varieties of animals

  3. development of monoclonal antibodies

  4. development of vaccines
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

This technology was developed by Kohler and Milestein.

Multiple choice

Flavr Savr Tomato was developed by using

  1. Gene Therapy

  2. Antisense RNA technology

  3. Recombinant DNA Technology

  4. Gene knock out

  5. Cloning
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Flavr Savr Tomato was the first genetically modified food product approved for human consumption. It was developed using antisense RNA technology to delay ripening by suppressing the production of polygalacturonase, an enzyme that softens fruit. This technology involves inserting a reverse copy of the gene to block its own expression, unlike gene therapy or recombinant DNA techniques which add or modify genes.

Multiple choice

Microarray gene chips will eventually be used to

  1. screen for mutations leading to cancer

  2. identify carriers of genetic diseases

  3. identify probable behavioural traits

  4. both 1 and 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Microarray gene chips can simultaneously analyze expression patterns of thousands of genes, making them useful for screening for mutations leading to cancer (by detecting characteristic expression changes) and identifying carriers of genetic diseases (by profiling disease-associated expression signatures). They cannot identify behavioral traits, which are complex and multifactorial.

Multiple choice

Which of the following plasmids is used to transfer genes in plants?

  1. Ti plasmid

  2. P BR 322

  3. ECOR 1

  4. P UC 18
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Ti (Tumor-inducing) plasmid from Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the most widely used vector for plant genetic engineering. It naturally contains T-DNA that can be transferred into plant genomes and has been modified into a disarmed vector system. The other plasmids (pBR322, pUC18) are E. coli cloning vectors, and ECOR1 is a restriction enzyme.

Multiple choice

Which technique is used to introduce genes into dicots?

  1. Electroporation

  2. Particle acceleration

  3. Microinjection

  4. Ti plasmid infection
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Ti plasmid from Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the preferred method for introducing genes into dicot plants because Agrobacterium naturally infects dicots. The T-DNA region of the Ti plasmid integrates into the plant genome. Electroporation, particle acceleration (gene gun), and microinjection are physical methods typically used for monocots which are recalcitrant to Agrobacterium infection.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is true regarding genomics?

  1. Plant genomics lags behind similar efforts in animals and microorganisms.

  2. Researchers can make use of genomic information even if the entire genome of an organism is not known.

  3. Researchers are busy trying to determine the genome of the potato plant.

  4. All of the above are true.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

All three statements are true: (A) Plant genomics initially lagged behind animal/microorganism efforts due to larger genome sizes, (B) Researchers can use partial genomic information through ESTs, marker genes, and comparative genomics, and (C) Potato genome sequencing was an active research effort. Since all individual statements are correct, 'All of the above' is the right answer.

Multiple choice

Which of the following best describes the purpose of the author in the passage?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Junk. Barren. Non-functioning. Dark matter. That’s how scientists had described the 98% of human genome that lies between our 21,000 genes, ever since our DNA was first sequenced about a decade ago. The disappointment in those descriptors was intentional and palpable.
It had been believed that the human genome — the underpinnings of the blueprint for the talking, empire-building, socially evolved species that we are — would be stuffed with sophisticated genes, coding for critical proteins of unparalleled complexity. But when all was said and done, and the Human Genome Project finally determined the entire sequence of our DNA in 2001, researchers found that the 3 billion base pairs that comprised our mere 21,000 genes made up a paltry 2% of the entire genome. The rest, geneticists acknowledged with unconcealed embarrassment, was an apparent biological wasteland.
But it turns out they were wrong. In an impressive series of more than 30 papers published in several journals, including Nature, Genome Research, Genome Biology, Science and Cell, scientists now report that these vast stretches of seeming “junk” DNA are actually the seat of crucial gene-controlling activity — changes that contribute to hundreds of common diseases. The new data come from the Encyclopaedia of DNA Elements project, or ENCODE, a $123 million endeavor begun by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in 2003, which includes 442 scientists in 32 labs around the world.
ENCODE has revealed that some 80% of the human genome is biochemically active. “What is remarkable is how much of the genome is doing at least something. It has changed my perception of the genome,” says Ewan Birney, ENCODE’s lead analysis coordinator from the European Bioinformatics Institute.
Rather than being inert, the portions of DNA that do not code for genes contain about 4 million so-called gene switches, transcription factors that control when our genes turn on and off and how much protein they make, not only affecting all the cells and organs in our body, but doing so at different points in our lifetime. Somewhere amidst that 80% of DNA, for example, lie the instructions that coax an uncommitted cell in a growing embryo to form a brain neuron, or direct a cell in the pancreas to churn out insulin after a meal, or guide a skin cell to bud off and replace a predecessor that has sloughed off.
“What we learned from ENCODE is how complicated the human genome is, and the incredible choreography that is going on with the immense number of switches that are choreographing how genes are used,” Eric Green, director of NHGRI, told reporters during a teleconference discussing the findings. “We are starting to answer fundamental questions like what are the working parts of the human genome, parts list of the human genome and what those parts do.”

 

  1. To talk about a new theory that answers a puzzling question.

  2. To rake up a controversy and reveal something complex and amazing.

  3. To simplify a misunderstood and complex theory.

  4. To present a finding that proves the falsity of something.

  5. To present a theory that will clear misconceptions and answer questions about our survival instinct.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The purpose of the author is to talk about a finding (that a lot of human DNA is useful) and prove the falsity of the belief that a lot of human DNA is waste. The author wants to present a finding which proves the falsity of existing belief. This answer choice is correct. The passage presents the finding that a lot of DNA is useful. This proves the falsity of the earlier belief that a lot of DNA was waste.

Multiple choice

Which of these options accurately encapsulates the essence of the passage?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Junk. Barren. Non-functioning. Dark matter. That’s how scientists had described the 98% of human genome that lies between our 21,000 genes, ever since our DNA was first sequenced about a decade ago. The disappointment in those descriptors was intentional and palpable.
It had been believed that the human genome — the underpinnings of the blueprint for the talking, empire-building, socially evolved species that we are — would be stuffed with sophisticated genes, coding for critical proteins of unparalleled complexity. But when all was said and done, and the Human Genome Project finally determined the entire sequence of our DNA in 2001, researchers found that the 3 billion base pairs that comprised our mere 21,000 genes made up a paltry 2% of the entire genome. The rest, geneticists acknowledged with unconcealed embarrassment, was an apparent biological wasteland.
But it turns out they were wrong. In an impressive series of more than 30 papers published in several journals, including Nature, Genome Research, Genome Biology, Science and Cell, scientists now report that these vast stretches of seeming “junk” DNA are actually the seat of crucial gene-controlling activity — changes that contribute to hundreds of common diseases. The new data come from the Encyclopaedia of DNA Elements project, or ENCODE, a $123 million endeavor begun by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in 2003, which includes 442 scientists in 32 labs around the world.
ENCODE has revealed that some 80% of the human genome is biochemically active. “What is remarkable is how much of the genome is doing at least something. It has changed my perception of the genome,” says Ewan Birney, ENCODE’s lead analysis coordinator from the European Bioinformatics Institute.
Rather than being inert, the portions of DNA that do not code for genes contain about 4 million so-called gene switches, transcription factors that control when our genes turn on and off and how much protein they make, not only affecting all the cells and organs in our body, but doing so at different points in our lifetime. Somewhere amidst that 80% of DNA, for example, lie the instructions that coax an uncommitted cell in a growing embryo to form a brain neuron, or direct a cell in the pancreas to churn out insulin after a meal, or guide a skin cell to bud off and replace a predecessor that has sloughed off.
“What we learned from ENCODE is how complicated the human genome is, and the incredible choreography that is going on with the immense number of switches that are choreographing how genes are used,” Eric Green, director of NHGRI, told reporters during a teleconference discussing the findings. “We are starting to answer fundamental questions like what are the working parts of the human genome, parts list of the human genome and what those parts do.”

 

  1. Ignorance is not always bliss.

  2. The fruits of hard work are sweet.

  3. Look beyond the obvious.

  4. Nature reveals itself in a piecemeal manner.

  5. You cannot discard anything as unnecessary.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The researcher’s first thought that a lot of DNA was junk DNA and later found out that these junk DNA were actually useful. The passage begins with the words ‘.....Junk. Barren. Non-functioning. Dark matter’. So, the passage basically says that nothing can be discarded as waste. Everything is useful. This answer choice is correct. The passage says that the part of the ‘DNA’, which was once thought useless has now been proved to be useful. So, the essence of the passage is that ‘nothing can be discarded as unnecessary’.

Multiple choice

What is the author’s attitude towards the new findings?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Junk. Barren. Non-functioning. Dark matter. That’s how scientists had described the 98% of human genome that lies between our 21,000 genes, ever since our DNA was first sequenced about a decade ago. The disappointment in those descriptors was intentional and palpable.
It had been believed that the human genome — the underpinnings of the blueprint for the talking, empire-building, socially evolved species that we are — would be stuffed with sophisticated genes, coding for critical proteins of unparalleled complexity. But when all was said and done, and the Human Genome Project finally determined the entire sequence of our DNA in 2001, researchers found that the 3 billion base pairs that comprised our mere 21,000 genes made up a paltry 2% of the entire genome. The rest, geneticists acknowledged with unconcealed embarrassment, was an apparent biological wasteland.
But it turns out they were wrong. In an impressive series of more than 30 papers published in several journals, including Nature, Genome Research, Genome Biology, Science and Cell, scientists now report that these vast stretches of seeming “junk” DNA are actually the seat of crucial gene-controlling activity — changes that contribute to hundreds of common diseases. The new data come from the Encyclopaedia of DNA Elements project, or ENCODE, a $123 million endeavor begun by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in 2003, which includes 442 scientists in 32 labs around the world.
ENCODE has revealed that some 80% of the human genome is biochemically active. “What is remarkable is how much of the genome is doing at least something. It has changed my perception of the genome,” says Ewan Birney, ENCODE’s lead analysis coordinator from the European Bioinformatics Institute.
Rather than being inert, the portions of DNA that do not code for genes contain about 4 million so-called gene switches, transcription factors that control when our genes turn on and off and how much protein they make, not only affecting all the cells and organs in our body, but doing so at different points in our lifetime. Somewhere amidst that 80% of DNA, for example, lie the instructions that coax an uncommitted cell in a growing embryo to form a brain neuron, or direct a cell in the pancreas to churn out insulin after a meal, or guide a skin cell to bud off and replace a predecessor that has sloughed off.
“What we learned from ENCODE is how complicated the human genome is, and the incredible choreography that is going on with the immense number of switches that are choreographing how genes are used,” Eric Green, director of NHGRI, told reporters during a teleconference discussing the findings. “We are starting to answer fundamental questions like what are the working parts of the human genome, parts list of the human genome and what those parts do.”

 

  1. Calibrated excitement

  2. Measured exultation

  3. Understandable ecstasy

  4. Reverential admiration

  5. Uncontrolled euphoria
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The author is excited but does not go to the extremes. In describing the author’s attitude, extreme words must be avoided. The author is excited in a correct way and is neither too excited nor is reserved in his excitement as is evident from the last paragraph. This answer choice is correct. The author’s joy on such a major finding (that much of the DNA in the human genome is useful) is understandable and correct.