Test your knowledge of biotechnology and its applications in agriculture, medicine, and ethical considerations with these multiple-choice questions.
Test Your Knowledge
Showing questions 1 - 20 of 49
1. Which of the following is NOT listed as a general application area of biotechnology in the provided sources?
The applications of biotechnology include waste treatment, energy production, processed food, therapeutics, diagnostics, genetically modified crops for agriculture, and bioremediation. Conventional breeding is a traditional method, not an application of biotechnology as defined in the sources.
2. The three critical research areas of biotechnology include all of the following EXCEPT:
The three critical research areas are providing the best catalyst (an improved organism or pure enzyme), creating optimal conditions through engineering for a catalyst to act, and downstream processing technologies to purify the protein/organic compound. Large-scale cultivation of traditional crops is not considered a critical research area of biotechnology itself.
3. Which of the following is NOT one of the three main options considered for increasing food production mentioned in the context of biotechnology?
The three options for increasing food production mentioned are agro-chemical based agriculture, organic agriculture, and genetically engineered crop-based agriculture.
4. Despite tripling food supply, the Green Revolution had limitations primarily due to which two factors for farmers in the developing world?
For farmers in the developing world, agrochemicals were often too expensive, and further increases in yield with existing varieties were not possible using conventional breeding.
5. The capacity to generate a whole plant from any cell or explant, grown under sterile conditions in special nutrient media, is called:
The capacity to generate a whole plant from any cell or explant is called totipotency.
6. Which of the following is an essential carbon source component that must be provided in the nutrient medium for plant tissue culture, as mentioned in the sources?
The nutrient medium must provide a carbon source such as sucrose, along with inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids, and growth regulators like auxins and cytokinins.
7. Thousands of genetically identical plants produced through tissue culture, a method called micro-propagation, are referred to as:
This method of producing thousands of plants through tissue culture is called micro-propagation, and each of these plants will be genetically identical to the original plant, meaning they are somaclones.
8. Which part of a virus-infected plant is typically free of the virus and can be used to obtain virus-free plants through *in vitro* culture?
Even if a plant is infected with a virus, its meristem (apical and axillary) is typically free of the virus. Hence, the meristem can be removed and grown *in vitro* to obtain virus-free plants.
9. Somatic hybridisation primarily involves the fusion of:
Somatic hybridisation is the process where isolated protoplasts (naked cells after digesting cell walls) from two different varieties of plants are fused to create hybrid protoplasts, which can then grow into a new plant.
10. The hybrid plant formed by fusing a protoplast of tomato with that of potato is famously known as:
The fusion of a protoplast of tomato with that of potato has been achieved, resulting in the formation of 'pomato'.
11. An organism whose genes have been altered by manipulation is termed a:
Plants, bacteria, fungi, and animals whose genes have been altered by manipulation are called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).
12. Which of the following are benefits of genetic modification in plants?
Genetic modification has made crops more tolerant to abiotic stresses (like cold, drought, salt, heat), reduced reliance on chemical pesticides (pest-resistant crops), and enhanced the nutritional value of food (e.g., golden rice, which is Vitamin 'A' enriched rice).
13. Beyond agricultural uses, GM plants can be specifically engineered to produce alternative resources for industries in the form of:
GM has been used to create tailor-made plants to supply alternative resources to industries, in the form of starches, fuels, and pharmaceuticals.
14. The Bt toxin, widely used in pest-resistant plants like Bt cotton, is produced by which bacterium?
Bt toxin is produced by a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt for short).
15. When the Bt toxin gene is expressed in plants, it effectively functions as a:
Bt toxin gene has been cloned from the bacteria and expressed in plants to provide resistance to insects without the need for insecticides; in effect created a bio-pesticide.
16. Which of the following crops has NOT been explicitly mentioned as having been modified using the Bt toxin gene in the provided sources?
Examples of crops mentioned as being modified with Bt toxin include Bt cotton, Bt corn, rice, tomato, potato, and soyabean. Wheat is not listed among these examples.
17. The Bt toxin does not kill the *Bacillus thuringiensis* bacterium itself primarily because:
The Bt toxin protein exists as inactive protoxins in the Bacillus, which only converts to an active form in the insect gut due to its alkaline pH.
18. In the insect gut, the activated Bt toxin causes insect death by:
The activated toxin binds to the surface of midgut epithelial cells and creates pores that cause cell swelling and lysis, eventually leading to the death of the insect.
19. The *cry* genes, which code for Bt toxins, are known for their:
Most Bt toxins are insect-group specific. For example, the proteins encoded by *cryIAc* and *cryIIAb* control cotton bollworms, while *cryIAb* controls corn borer.
20. RNA interference (RNAi) primarily works as a method of cellular defense by:
RNAi involves the silencing of a specific mRNA due to a complementary double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecule that binds to it and prevents its translation.