Biological Classification: NEET PYQ, 2018–2026

Q1 · Botany · Biological Classification

Which storage carbohydrate do fungi accumulate as their reserve food, in a form similar to that found in animals?

• AGlycogen
• BStarch
• CCellulose
• DChitin

Q2 · Botany · Biological Classification

In the life cycle of Plasmodium vivax, the causative agent of malaria, where does sexual reproduction occur, leading to the formation of a zygote?

• AIn the gut of the female Anopheles mosquito
• BIn the red blood cells of the human host
• CIn the liver cells of the human host
• DIn the salivary glands of the female Anopheles mosquito

Q3 · Botany · Biological Classification

In a basidiomycete, the mycelium is dikaryotic, with each hyphal cell holding two genetically distinct haploid nuclei of compatible mating types. Which sequence of nuclear events occurs in the basidium, and how many nuclei does each mature basidiospore typically carry?

• APlasmogamy occurs inside the basidium, then the two nuclei undergo meiosis; each basidiospore carries two haploid nuclei.
• BKaryogamy occurs in the basidium, forming a diploid nucleus that undergoes meiosis; each basidiospore carries one haploid nucleus.
• CMeiosis occurs in the vegetative dikaryotic hyphae first, then karyogamy in the basidium; each basidiospore carries one diploid nucleus.
• DKaryogamy occurs in the basidium followed by mitosis; each basidiospore carries two diploid nuclei.

Q4 · Botany · Biological Classification

The three steps of the sexual cycle of a fungus occur in the order:

• Akaryogamy → plasmogamy → meiosis
• Bplasmogamy → karyogamy → meiosis
• Cmeiosis → plasmogamy → karyogamy
• Dplasmogamy → meiosis → karyogamy

Q5 · Botany · Biological Classification

Fungi are important decomposers in ecosystems. Which statement best explains how a saprophytic fungus obtains nutrients from dead organic matter?

• AIt secretes extracellular digestive enzymes onto the substrate and absorbs the soluble products.
• BIt engulfs particles of dead matter by phagocytosis and digests them in food vacuoles.
• CIt photosynthesises using chlorophyll in its hyphae and stores the sugars produced.
• DIt oxidises inorganic compounds such as ammonia to obtain energy and carbon.

Q6 · Botany · Biological Classification

In the five kingdom system, Euglena is placed in Kingdom Protista rather than Plantae. Which feature best justifies this placement?

• AIt is a unicellular eukaryote with a flexible pellicle and flagella, and it can switch between photosynthetic and heterotrophic nutrition depending on light.
• BIt contains chlorophyll a and b in chloroplasts and stores food as starch, as green plants do.
• CIt lacks a membrane-bound nucleus, so it must belong to Monera.
• DIt forms chitinous spores and absorbs nutrients externally through its body surface, as fungi do.

Q7 · Botany · Biological Classification

In the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage, what event ends the infection?

• AThe host cell lyses and releases new phage particles.
• BThe phage genome becomes a stable prophage in the host chromosome.
• CThe host cell forms a dormant spore that protects the phage.
• DThe phage DNA is converted into a circular plasmid that the host keeps.

Q8 · Botany · Biological Classification

Lichens reproduce vegetatively by small propagules that are detached from the thallus and grow into new lichens. Which statement correctly describes these propagules?

• ASoredia and isidia are fragments of the thallus that contain both fungal hyphae and algal or cyanobacterial cells, so each can regenerate a complete lichen.
• BSpores produced inside sporangia by the mycobiont alone, dispersed by wind, are the main vegetative propagules of lichens.
• CConidia formed by the algal partner at the tips of specialised hyphae, which germinate into new thalli.
• DGemmae formed in cup-like structures that contain only algal cells, with the fungal partner absent from the propagule.

Q9 · Botany · Biological Classification

In dinoflagellates, two unequal flagella arise from the cell and each lies in its own groove. Which statement correctly describes their arrangement and the cell covering?

• AThe transverse flagellum lies in the longitudinal groove (sulcus), the longitudinal flagellum lies in the girdle (cingulum), and the cell is covered by a silica frustule.
• BThe transverse flagellum lies in the transverse groove (cingulum) encircling the cell, the longitudinal flagellum trails in the longitudinal groove (sulcus), and the cell is covered by cellulose plates forming a theca.
• CBoth flagella lie in the transverse groove, and the cell is covered by a protein pellicle of overlapping strips.
• DTwo equal whiplash flagella emerge from the anterior end, and the cell is covered by a thin cellulose cell wall without plates.

Q10 · Botany · Biological Classification

A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association of a fungus with:

• Aan alga
• Ba nitrogen-fixing bacterium
• Cthe dung of herbivores
• Dthe roots of higher plants