Biotechnology Practice Questions
1) Which of the following tools of recombinant DNA technology is incorrectly paired with its use?
A. restriction enzyme; production of RFLPs
B. DNA ligase; enzyme that cuts DNA, creating the sticky ends of restriction fragments
C. DNA polymerase; used in a polymerase chain reaction to amplify sections of DNA
D. reverse transcriptase; production of cDNA from mRNA
E. electrophoresis; DNA sequencing
2) Which of the following would not be true of cDNA produced using human brain tissue as the
starting material?
A. It could be amplified by the polymerase chain reaction.
B. It could be used to create a complete genomic library.
C. It is produced from mRNA using reverse transcriptase.
D. It could be used as a probe to locate a gene of interest.
E. It lacks the introns of the human genes and thus can probably be introduced into phage
vectors.
3) Plants are more readily manipulated by genetic engineering than are animals because
A. plant genes do not contain introns.
B. more vectors are available for transferring recombinant DNA into plant cells.
C. a somatic plant cell can often give rise to a complete plant.
D. genes can be inserted into plant cells by microinjection.
E. plant cells have larger nuclei.
4) A paleontologist has recovered a bit of tissue from the 400-year-old preserved skin of an
extinct dodo (a bird). The researcher would like to compare DNA from the sample with DNA
from living birds. Which of the following would be most useful for increasing the amount of dodo
DNA available for testing?
A. RFLP analysis
B. polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
C. electroporation
D. gel electrophoresis
E. Southern hybridization
5) Expression of a cloned eukaryotic gene in a prokaryotic cell involves many difficulties. The use
of mRNA and reverse transcriptase is part of a strategy to solve the problem of
A. post-transcriptional processing.
B. electroporation.
C. post-translational processing.
D. nucleic acid hybridization.
E. restriction fragment ligation.
6) DNA technology has many medical applications. Which of the following is not yet done
routinely?
A. production of hormones for treating diabetes and dwarfism
B. production of viral subunits for vaccines
C. introduction of genetically engineered genes into human gametes
D. prenatal identification of genetic disease genes
E. genetic testing for carriers of harmful alleles
Biotechnology Practice Questions
7) Which of the following has the largest genome size and the smallest number of genes per
million base pairs?
A. H. influenzae (bacterium)
B. S. cerevisiae (yeast)
C. A. thaliana (plant)
D. D. melanogaster (fruit fly)
E. H. sapiens (human)
8) Which of the following sequences in double-stranded DNA is most likely to be recognized as a
cutting site for a restriction enzyme?
A. AAGG
TTCC
B. AGTC
TCAG
C. GGCC
CCGG
D. ACCA
TGGT
E. AAAA
TTTT
9) In recombinant DNA methods, the term vector can refer to
A. the enzyme that cuts DNA into restriction fragments.
B. the sticky end of a DNA fragment.
C. a RFLP marker.
D. a plasmid used to transfer DNA into a living cell.
E. a DNA probe used to identify a particular gene.
10) The human genome was sequenced via…
A. linkage mapping of each chromosome.
B. extensive physical mapping of each chromosome, starting with large chromosomal
fragments.
C. DNA sequencing of small fragments and then assembly of the fragments to determine
overall nucleotide sequence.
D. A and B
E. A, B, and C
Biotechnology Practice Questions
11) What is the advantage of being able to clone the gene for human insulin?
A. Human insulin is more variable than other sources of insulin, so cloning would provide a
greater chance of obtaining a form that can be used by the diabetic's muscles.
B. There are too few cows, pigs, and horses to provide an adequate supply of their insulin.
C. Human insulin is less likely to provoke an allergic reaction than cow, pig, or horse insulin.
D. Cow, pig, or horse insulin cannot keep a diabetic alive for more than three months.
E. Using human insulin increases the probability that, in the future, the diabetic can be
weaned from a dependence on insulin.
12) What is a major source of restriction enzymes?
A. chief cells
B. DNA technology
C. parietal cells
D. archaea
E. bacteria
13) __________ is the process by which a bacterium takes up a plasmid from the surrounding
solution.
A. Transformation
B. Transcription
C. Transition
D. Transduction
E. Translation
14) Gel electrophoresis separates DNA molecules on the basis of
A. the nucleotide sequence of their sticky ends.
B. their nucleotide sequences.
C. the amount of adenine they contain relative to the amount of thymine they contain.
D. the amount of adenine they contain relative to the amount of guanine they contain.
E. their lengths.