BIO 460
Quiz 1
For multiple choice questions please select the best answer. For open-ended questions there
may be more than one correct answer. You can write on the back if necessary.
1. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technology used to amplify DNA for further study. What are
the 3 steps of the PCR reaction cycle?
a. Denaturation, annealing, and extension
b. Denaturation, extension, and acidification
c. Denaturation, annealing, and digestion
d. Denaturation, extension, and melting
2. Please consider the following PCR reaction: You have PCR-amplified a gene of interest (G.O.I.)
from the tomato plant. You have created and poured a gel, loaded a DNA ladder, and your
samples. After running your gel at constant voltage, you visualize your gel under UV light and see
that there are no DNA bands where you expect. Additionally, the positive controls AND the DNA
ladder are not seen either. What are some of the possible causes for this?
3. Gel electrophoresis is a useful technology that allows one to separate, manipulate, and/or
visualize different components of the central dogma. Please name three different things that one
can use gel electrophoresis technology to study. Additionally, please explain what physical
attribute separates out your samples as your gel runs.
4. Which enzyme(s) is responsible for “glue-ing” together two separate pieces of DNA with similar
sticky ends when making recombinant DNA?
a. Restriction enzymes
b. Ligases
c. Phosphatases
d. Taq polymerase
5. Why do farmers grow transgenic crops?
6. Please list 2-3 reasons why genetically engineered crops are not universally grown and accepted.
7. Which is NOT a developmental stage of tissue culture?
a. Transfer to natural environment
b. Proliferation of axillary shoots
c. Establishment of aseptic cultures
d. Pretransplating (rooting)
e. Addition of cytokines/auxins
8. Please explain the difference between embryogenesis and totipotency.
9. What is the preferred carbohydrate in plant cell culture media?
a. Lactose
b. Sucrose
c. Starch
d. Maltose
e. Sorbitol
10. When selecting and cutting a donor plant tissue, why is it important to collect your sample prior
to plant flowering?