Biology

Genetics and Evolutionary Biology

1,156 Questions

Genetics and evolutionary biology explain how traits are passed from parents to offspring and how species change over time. Key concepts include genetic drift, inbreeding, and heredity. This topic is fundamental for the biology section of many competitive tests.

Heredity and traitsGenetic variations and driftInbreeding conceptsEvolutionary mechanisms

Genetics and Evolutionary Biology Questions

Multiple choice

The concept that any genetic information cannot be transmitted for long without some deterioration in quality due to copy error was given by which of the following rules?

  1. Allen’s rule

  2. Shannon’s rule

  3. Dollo’s rule

  4. Cope’s rule

  5. Jordan’s rule
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Shannon gave the concept that any genetic information cannot be transmitted for long without some deterioration in quality due to copy error was given by the following rule. It emphasized on the selective advantage of genetic redundancy in genetic transmission.

Multiple choice

Which type of mutation does not result in the absence of mutagens?

  1. Point mutation

  2. Frameshift mutation

  3. Induced mutation

  4. Spontaneous mutation

  5. Nonsense mutation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

It occurs when an organism is exposed to a physical or chemical agent known as mutagen that interacts with DNA to cause a mutation. Induced mutations typically occur at a much higher frequency than spontaneous mutations. The first induced mutations were created by treating Drosophila with X-rays.

Multiple choice

Among the given list of mutations, which type of mutation is polyploidy?

  1. Germline mutation

  2. Somatic mutation

  3. Frameshift mutation

  4. Chromosomal mutation

  5. Point mutation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Chromosomal mutation is involving the change in chromosome structure. The changes in structure will change the composition or location allele. Polyploidy is an example of chromosomal mutation. Polyploidy is a condition wherein organisms have three or more sets of genetic variation (3n or more).

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements regarding mutation is not correct?

  1. It is a change in the hereditary material of life.

  2. It is the raw material of genetic variation.

  3. In the absence of mutation, evolution cannot occur.

  4. Some mutations result in an incomplete protein.

  5. External influences cannot create mutation.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Mutation is affected by external influences. Mutations can be caused by exposure to specific chemicals or radiation. These agents cause the DNA to break down. This is not necessarily unnatural even in the most isolated and pristine environments DNA breaks down.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a genetically inherited trait?

  1. Skin getting tanned when a person stands in sunlight

  2. Beetles losing body weight due to starvation

  3. A person developing extra muscles by strenuous workout

  4. Haemophilia

  5. Colour change in the skin of a person due to mutation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Haemophilia or bleeder’s disease is a genetically inherited trait.  Mutation, which happens only in the germ cells (gametes), is inherited.

Multiple choice

Which of the following factors are involved in the formation of new species?

  1. Isolation and mutation

  2. Competition and variation

  3. Isolation and competition

  4. Competition and mutation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

New species formation requires both isolation (geographic, reproductive, or temporal) to prevent gene flow and mutations to create genetic divergence. While competition and variation influence evolution, isolation and mutation are the primary drivers of speciation.

Multiple choice

Which is not an apparent, mystery resolved by replicator theory?

  1. The occurrence of untranscribed DNA.

  2. The occurrence of altruism among siblings.

  3. The occurrence of sexual reproduction.

  4. The occurrence of bacterial cells.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The occurrence of bacterial cells, has never been considered an exceptional mystery (though it too is explained by replicator theory).

Multiple choice

The organisms cannot be considered as replicators because

  1. they are macroscopic

  2. they can act to maximize their own happiness rather than their number of children

  3. they are not the units of natural selection

  4. organisms do not pass on acquired characters. They only pass on their genes.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer. Organisms are not replicators because their acquired characters are not passed on to future generations, only their genes are passed along.

Multiple choice

The ultimate source of organic variation is

  1. natural selection

  2. sexual reproduction

  3. hormonal action

  4. mutation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Mutation is the ultimate source of all genetic variation in organisms. Mutations are random changes in DNA that create new alleles. Natural selection acts on existing variation, sexual reproduction reshuffles it, and hormones don't create genetic variation. Without mutation, there would be no new genetic material for evolution to work on.

Multiple choice

Random amplified polymorphic DNA is a technique for

  1. cross linkage of antigens by antibodies

  2. revealing intra-specific variation and diversity between species

  3. selection of somaclones that are resistant to herbicides

  4. reduction or elimination of the expression of individual genes

  5. transferring geometric shapes on a mask to the surface of a silicon wafer
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is a method that reveals intra-specific variation and diversity between species.