Acellular Life MCQs with Answers
Which of these is a primary method used in biotechnology to produce vaccines?
Extracting antibodies from recovered patients
Synthesizing a specific antigen using a cloned gene
Weakening a virus by exposing it to heat
Amplifying the entire viral genome using PCR
What marketable vaccine is explicitly mentioned as being a product of transgenic bacteria?
Polio vaccine
MMR vaccine
Tetanus vaccine
Hepatitis B vaccine
In vaccine development, what is the role of monoclonal antibodies?
To act as the main ingredient in the vaccine
To deliver a cloned gene into bacteria
To prepare a pure antigen for the vaccine
To diagnose the disease before vaccination
Besides complete antigens, what smaller synthesized molecules can also be used as vaccines?
Plasmids
Liposomes
Peptides
Protoplasts
The creation of an antigen from a cloned gene is a direct application of what technology?
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Recombinant DNA technology
Gene Therapy
DNA Sequencing
What is the main function of a DNA probe in disease diagnosis?
To cut the patient's DNA at specific sites
To find and bind with a complementary DNA strand
To replicate a segment of DNA millions of times
To carry a therapeutic gene into a patient's cells
According to the text, PCR can be used as a tool to diagnose which conditions?
A patient's blood type and pH levels
Antibody concentrations after vaccination
Viral infections, genetic disorders, and cancer
Blood sugar levels and nutritional deficiencies
The unique patterns of DNA fragments used in DNA fingerprinting are known as:
cDNA
Plasmids
Palindromic Sequences
RFLPs
What technique allows for the analysis of a minuscule DNA sample from a crime scene?
Gene therapy
Anther culture
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Gel electrophoresis
How are DNA probes made detectable in a diagnostic test?
They are stained with a colored protein dye
They are made radioactive
They naturally glow when bound to DNA
They are attached to large metal particles
Which of these is NOT listed as a product of genetic engineering for disease treatment?
Human insulin
Quinine
Human growth hormone
Antithrombin III
What is the term for using transgenic farm animals to produce pharmaceuticals?
Gene therapy
Bioleaching
Cloning
Gene pharming
What is the most common approach in gene therapy for correcting a faulty gene?
Inserting a normal gene into a nonspecific location
Removing the faulty gene entirely from all cells
Using specific drugs to reactivate the faulty gene
Swapping the abnormal gene with a normal one
What enzyme is deficient in patients with SCID who undergo *ex vivo* gene therapy?
DNA ligase
Adenosine deaminase
Taq polymerase
Restriction endonuclease
What is a 'vector' in gene therapy?
A protein product made by the new gene
The bone marrow stem cells that receive the gene
A carrier molecule, like a virus, to deliver a gene
The faulty gene that is being replaced
What is the purpose of creating 'frost-minus' bacteria?
To increase the fertility of frozen soil
To act as a novel type of insecticide
To protect plants from ice crystal formation
To clean up oil spills in cold climates
Which tool of biotechnology is known as 'molecular scissors'?
DNA ligase
Plasmids
DNA polymerase
Restriction endonucleases
What is a 'genomic library'?
A digital database of all known protein sequences
A collection of clones containing an organism's entire genome
A single chromosome carefully preserved from an organism
A stock of a single cloned gene with millions of copies
The telomeres at the ends of a chromosome
The primers used to start a PCR reaction
Complementary single-stranded ends of cut DNA
The circular shape of a bacterial plasmid
How is the gene for cystic fibrosis delivered in the *in vivo* therapy trial described?
By injecting a viral vector into the blood
By transplanting genetically modified lung cells
By using a particle gun on the respiratory tract
By spraying liposomes into the patient's nostrils
Which of these is NOT a stated application of PCR?
Diagnosing viral infections
Producing therapeutic proteins like insulin
Identifying criminals in forensic labs
Studying evolutionary history
Gene therapy for familial hypercholesterolemia targets which problem?
A lack of the ADA enzyme in immune cells
A faulty CFTR gene in lung cells
A defective blood clotting factor gene
Liver cells lacking a cholesterol receptor
A gene inserted into corn roots to protect against pests codes for what product?
A growth hormone
A frost-preventing protein
An insect toxin
A herbicide resistance enzyme
A mature pollen grain for anther culture
A plant cell with its cell wall removed
An undifferentiated mass of plant cells
An encapsulated 'artificial seed'
The Taq polymerase used in PCR is extracted from what organism?
A common bacteriophage
The bacterium *Thermus aquaticus*
The intestinal bacterium *E. coli*
A species of baking yeast
Besides a plasmid, what else can be used as a vector to insert a gene into bacteria?
A liposome
A microneedle
DNA from a bacterial virus
A plant protoplast
What was the main scientific significance of cloning the sheep Dolly from an adult cell?
Proving adult cell genes can be reprogrammed for full development
Showing asexual reproduction is more efficient
Creating a method to produce industrial bioplastics
Confirming any 2n nucleus could be put into a sheep egg
What is the benefit of making crops resistant to a broad-spectrum herbicide?
It makes the crops grow twice as fast
It enhances the flavor of the final food product
It allows for killing weeds without harming the crop
It makes the crops produce their own fertilizer
Which of the following was a primary goal of the Human Genome Project?
To cure all known genetic diseases
To create a perfect human clone
To prove all human DNA is identical
To construct a genetic map of each chromosome
How is a foreign gene typically introduced when creating a transgenic animal?
By injecting it into an adult animal's bloodstream
By injecting it into donor eggs before fertilization
By feeding it to the host mother during pregnancy
By adding it to the animal's milk after birth
The pest-resistance gene known as the Bt gene comes from what source?
A virus
A bacterium
A fungus
A different pest-resistant plant
What is the function of DNA ligase?
It cuts plasmid DNA at specific sites
It seals foreign DNA into a vector
It acts as a carrier for a foreign gene
It synthesizes a new strand of DNA
What is a key advantage of using meristem culture for plant propagation?
The resulting plants are haploid
The resulting plants are always genetically different
The resulting plants are virus-free
It is the best method for cereal grains
What happened when a tobacco plant was engineered with the firefly luciferase gene?
It became resistant to all common insects
It glowed when sprayed with luciferin
It grew to three times its normal size
It developed the ability to grow in salty soil
What does the term 'totipotency' describe?
The process of crossing different plant varieties
A specific type of palindromic DNA sequence
The ability of a single plant cell to form a whole organism
The uptake of foreign DNA by a host cell
Why are bacterial cells treated with calcium chloride before introducing a plasmid?
To kill any untransformed bacteria
To activate the DNA ligase enzyme
To make their membranes more permeable
To make the plasmid radioactive
Which product is used to treat the blood clotting disorder hemophilia?
Insulin
Haemophilia factor VIII
Human growth hormone
Tissue plasminogen activator
In DNA analysis, what does gel electrophoresis do?
It cuts DNA into many small fragments
It makes millions of copies of DNA fragments
It separates DNA fragments based on their length
It transfers DNA fragments onto a membrane
What is the initial chromosomal state of plants produced via anther culture?
Virus-free
Identical to the parent
Haploid
Herbicide-resistant
Which was the first human chromosome to be fully sequenced?
Chromosome 1
Chromosome 22
X chromosome
Y chromosome
The initial tissue piece used in plant culture
A plant cell with its cell wall removed
An undifferentiated group of dividing plant cells
A somatic embryo ready for germination
Who is credited with isolating the first restriction enzyme in 1970?
Kary B. Mullis
Hamilton O. Smith
Frederick Sanger
Gottlieb Haberlandt
Which of these therapeutic products is made by transgenic plants, not bacteria?
Insulin
Antibodies for treating genital herpes
Human growth hormone
Tissue plasminogen activator
Why are 'suicide genes' sometimes added to bacteria used for bioremediation?
To make them work faster under pressure
To protect them from environmental toxins
To make them self-destruct after their job is done
To help them reproduce more quickly in the field
How is paternity determined using DNA fingerprinting?
The child's DNA bands must be a perfect match to the father's
The father must have more DNA bands than the mother
The child must have no bands in common with the father
The child's DNA contains a mix of bands from both parents
What is the function of a particle gun in plant biotechnology?
To inject therapeutic genes into human patients
To rapidly sequence a plant's DNA sample
To shoot DNA-coated particles into a plant callus
To eliminate agricultural pests using metal pellets
The gene for which hormone has been used to create larger transgenic fish?
Luciferase
Antithrombin III
Bovine growth hormone
An insect toxin
What ecological concern is mentioned regarding transgenic fish?
They are not safe for human consumption
They reproduce much too slowly in captivity
They could disrupt natural ecosystems if they escape
They require a highly specialized and expensive diet
What type of bond initially forms between complementary 'sticky ends'?
Covalent bond
Ionic bond
Hydrogen bond
Disulphide bond
What is the potential benefit of using cell suspension cultures to produce chemicals?
It eliminates the need to farm the source plants
It allows chemicals to be synthesized from petroleum
It is a process that requires no genetic engineering
It reduces the need to import chemicals
What special nucleotide terminates DNA synthesis in the Sanger sequencing method?
Ribonucleotides (NTPs)
Dideoxynucleotides (ddNTPs)
Deoxyribonucleotides (dNTPs)
Radioactive nucleotides
What is the main benefit of automated DNA sequencing?
It requires no enzymes like DNA polymerase
It greatly improves the quality and speed of sequencing
It uses significantly less DNA than manual methods
It can only be used for sequencing viral DNA
When using *Agrobacterium* as a vector, where is the foreign gene first placed?
Directly into the plant's chromosome
Into the plant's mitochondria
Into the bacterium's plasmid
Into the cell wall of the plant
To create salt-tolerant plants, a gene for a channel protein was used to sequester Na+ ions into which organelle?
The nucleus
The vacuole
The chloroplast
The cytoplasm
What is the natural purpose of restriction enzymes within bacteria?
To repair mutations in their own DNA
To assist in bacterial conjugation
To defend against infecting viruses
To synthesize messenger RNA
What defines a 'palindromic sequence' in DNA?
It consists only of A and T bases
It is always over 100 base pairs long
Its nucleotides are arranged symmetrically in reverse order
It is a sequence that cannot be cut by enzymes
Why are bone marrow stem cells ideal for *ex vivo* gene therapy?
They are the easiest cells to remove from the body
They divide to create a lasting supply of corrected cells
They are the only cells affected by most genetic diseases
They do not have a nucleus, which simplifies the process
How did biotechnology improve the production of phenylalanine for aspartame?
By engineering plants to produce it in their leaves
By using gene therapy to help humans synthesize it
By engineering bacteria for more efficient production
By extracting it from the milk of transgenic animals
What is complementary DNA (cDNA)?
The non-coding strand of a DNA double helix
A short piece of DNA used as a PCR primer
DNA found exclusively within bacterial plasmids
DNA synthesized from an mRNA template
Bioleaching by engineered bacteria is used for what industrial purpose?
Producing biodegradable plastics
Extracting metals from low-grade ore
Cleaning up environmental oil spills
Removing sulfur from coal before burning
What is the function of the enzyme reverse transcriptase?
It synthesizes DNA from an mRNA template
It cuts DNA at specific palindromic sequences
It joins two DNA fragments together
It synthesizes RNA from a DNA template
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