Biotechnology/Genomes-Week 13

Question 1

You have discovered a very small amount of DNA from an ancient organism that you want to save and study. What is the very first thing you should do to allow you to study this DNA in the lab?

Gel electrophoresis
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Insert the DNA into a vector
RT-PCR

Answer 1

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

Question 2

Which of the following types of information would be most useful in an effort to move a DNA fragment from one plasmid vector to another, using molecular cloning techniques?

Sequence of PCR primers
Restriction maps of the plasmids
DNA fingerprint data
Data from cloning of Dolly the sheep

Answer 2

Restriction maps of the plasmids

Question 3

A friend makes the argument that transgenic crops have only been used to enrich large corporations, not to improve people’s health. What is the best counterexample?

Glyphosate-resistant soybeans
Golden Rice
Cre-Lox
Bt maize

Answer 3

Golden Rice

Question 4

Using actual landmarks within DNA sequences, scientists can generate a _______ map.

DNA
physical
chromosomal
genetic

Answer 4

genetic

Question 5

Gel _________is a process that separates DNA or protein fragments according to their size, by causing them to migrate within a gel in response to an electric field.

electrophoresis
duplication
blotting
migration

Answer 5

electrophoresis

Question 6

The most common way to follow bacterial transformation with a plasmid is by

manufacturing the bacterial protein.
separating the altered cell surface.
conferring antibiotic resistance.
altering the physical appearance of the cells.

Answer 6

conferring antibiotic resistance.

Question 7

A fourth type of restriction enzyme is identified that cleaves at precise locations like a type II enzyme, but it also occasionally makes mistakes and cuts elsewhere. Would this type of enzyme be a useful enzyme to use in molecular cloning?

No, because cutting mistakes could lead to incorrect cloning.
Yes, because it cuts correctly sometimes.
No, because it is a precise enzyme.
Yes, because cutting mistakes don’t matter in molecular cloning.

Answer 7

No, because cutting mistakes could lead to incorrect cloning.

Question 8

Single-stranded ends generated by the same restriction enzyme are complementary to each other. They can be joined together

only when the source of the DNA is the same.
but the hybridization of the two ends may cause a problem with cloning.
but the “sticky ends” will most likely have to be modified.
even when the source of the DNA is different.

Answer 8

even when the source of the DNA is different.

Question 9

The organism with the largest relative genome size is _____ and the organism with the highest number of actual genes is ______.

fruit fly; human
yeast; yeast
human; human
human; rice

Question 10

Crop plants have been protected from certain insects by the addition of a gene for a specific insect toxin from the bacterium

Bacillus thuringiensis.
Herpes simplex.
Pseudomonas.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens.