Vector Biology Interview Questions and Answers for Experienced people focuses on “Vectors for Plants – 3”.
1. Which of the following entities of a plant contain their own genomes, distinct from the nucleus?
A. Golgi apparatus
B. Ribosomes
A. Chloroplast
D. Ribozymes
Answer: C
Clarification: If biolistics is used to integrate DNA in a plant embryo, then some particles may penetrate one or more of the chloroplasts present in the cells.
2. Chloroplast genomes are smaller than the nuclear genomes present in the plants.
A. True
B. False
Answer: A
Clarification: Chloroplasts contain their own genomes, distinct from and much shorter than the DNA molecules in the nucleus and DNA can become integrated into this chloroplasts genome.
3. By which mechanism does the transfer of genes into the chloroplast genome take place?
A. Replication
B. Homologous recombination
A. Restriction digestion
D. Apoptosis
Answer: B
Clarification: The DNA to be cloned must be flanked by sequences similar to the region of the chloroplast genome into which the DNA is to be inserted so that insertion can take place through homologous recombination.
4. What is the advantage of inserting a gene of interest into the chloroplast?
A. Increased expression
B. Decreased expression
A. Ease of replication
D. Lower capital costs
Answer: A
Clarification: As a plant cell contains tens of chloroplasts whereas a nucleus is present only as a single copy, a gene inserted into the chloroplast genome is likely to be expressed at a higher level.
5. What is the drawback of using plant viruses as cloning vectors?
A. Small size
B. Large size
A. RNA as genetic material
D. DNA as genetic material
Answer: C
Clarification: The main problem of using plant viruses as cloning vectors is that the vast majority of plant viruses have genomes not of DNA but RNA, and manipulations with RNA are more difficult.
6. Which of the following is a plant virus?
A. Geminivirus
B. M13
A. HIV
D. RP4
Answer: A
Clarification: Only two classes of DNA virus are known to infect higher plants, the caulimovirus and the geminivirus, and neither is ideally suited for gene cloning.
7. Which was the first plant used for cloning experiment?
A. Turnip
B. Potato
A. Tomato
D. Brinjal
Answer: A
Clarification: One of the first successful plant genetic experiments happened in 1984, used a caulimovirus vector to clone a new gene into turnip plants.
8. Which problem is associated with a caulimovirus?
A. Size
B. In vivo packaging
A. Restriction issues
D. Poor ligation
Answer: A
Clarification: Caulimovirus vector was first used to clone genes in a turnip plant. The basic issue with this vector is that the total size of the genome is constrained by the need to package it into its protein coat.
9. Which basic strategy is used in the generation of cloning vector CaMV?
A. Helper phage
B. Co-integration
A. Hybrid vector
D. Phagemid
Answer: A
Clarification: The Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) genome lacks several essential genes, which means that it can carry a large DNA insert but cannot by itself direct infection.
10. What is provided by the viral genome in cloning experiments using CaMV?
A. Virus proteins
B. Endonucleases
A. Ligases
D. Origin