Biotechnology and its Applications: NEET PYQ, 2018–2026

Q1 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

A patent granted to an inventor for a new, useful and non-obvious invention gives the patent holder which of the following?

• AExclusive rights to make, use and sell the invention for a limited period
• BPermanent ownership of the natural organism from which the invention was derived
• CFree access for all citizens to use the invention without payment
• DA government-funded research grant to continue the invention

Q2 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

A patient carries one mutant allele of a gene that produces a protein subunit which, when it assembles with normal subunits, disrupts the function of the whole complex. The mutant is dominant. A research team plans to add a normal copy of the gene to the patient's cells. Why is this strategy unlikely to restore function?

• AAdding a normal copy would raise the total amount of normal protein, so the mutant subunits would be diluted out and the complex would work normally.
• BThe inserted normal gene would be silenced by the patient's cells because they recognise any foreign DNA, so no normal protein would be made.
• CNormal and mutant subunits cannot coexist in one complex, so the cells would simply discard the normal protein once the mutant is present.
• DThe mutant subunit actively interferes with the complex, so supplying normal protein alone may not restore function, and the mutant allele itself would need to be suppressed or corrected.

Q3 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

Escherichia coli is used to produce human insulin, although many eukaryotic secreted proteins are glycosylated. What is the main reason E. coli is a suitable host for recombinant human insulin?

• AHuman insulin is not glycosylated, so the absence of eukaryotic glycosylation machinery in E. coli does not affect its structure or function.
• BE. coli glycosylates insulin fully in the same way as human cells, so no modification is missing in the bacterial product.
• CInsulin must be glycosylated to be active, and E. coli adds sugars through its cell wall synthesis enzymes.
• DE. coli removes the C-peptide from proinsulin by its own enzymes, so the product is mature insulin without any processing step.

Q4 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

Antibiotic resistance marker genes are often used in the construction of genetically modified plants. Why is their presence considered a biosafety concern?

• AThey could transfer resistance to pathogenic bacteria, making infections harder to treat
• BThey make the plant produce a toxin that kills all insects
• CThey cause the plant to lose its ability to photosynthesise
• DThey make the seed coat too thick for germination

Q5 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

Which type of human condition is most suitable as a target for current gene therapy?

• AA disorder caused by a defect in a single gene whose protein function is known.
• BEssential hypertension, which results from many genes interacting with diet and lifestyle.
• CA bacterial infection such as tuberculosis, since the bacterium carries the defective gene.
• DFracture of a bone caused by an accident.

Q6 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

A disarmed Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid is used as a vector to transfer a gene of interest into a dicot plant cell. Which feature of the modified plasmid must be retained for the T-DNA carrying the gene to be transferred into and integrated within the host plant genome?

• AThe tumour-inducing genes within the T-DNA must be kept intact, because their expression is what signals the transformed cell to integrate the T-DNA.
• BThe vir region genes, which act in trans to mediate T-DNA processing and transfer, must be present on the vector or helper plasmid, together with the T-DNA border repeats that flank the segment to be transferred.
• CThe entire Ti plasmid, including its origin of replication, must be transferred into the plant cell, since the plasmid itself integrates into the chromosome and the T-DNA is only a passive passenger.
• DThe T-DNA must carry a bacterial conjugation pilus gene, because Agrobacterium transfers DNA into plant cells by the same mechanism it uses for bacterial conjugation.

Q7 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

In the context of patents on biological material, biopiracy is:

• Athe production of genetically modified crops
• Bthe use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and people concerned, and without compensatory payment
• Cthe copying of a patented product by another company
• Dthe conservation of genetic resources in seed banks

Q8 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

In ex vivo gene therapy, which sequence of steps is correct?

• AInject the functional gene directly into the target organ, then remove cells for testing.
• BRemove cells from the patient, introduce the functional gene into them outside the body, then return the modified cells to the patient.
• CCulture the patient's cells outside the body, then inject unmodified cells back to restore the enzyme.
• DIntroduce the functional gene into a donor's germ cells, then transplant the donor embryo into the patient.

Q9 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

A therapeutic gene is introduced as a non-integrating plasmid into rapidly dividing epithelial cells of a patient. The protein is detected for several weeks but then becomes undetectable, even though the cells remain alive and the plasmid was present at the start. Which explanation fits best?

• AThe plasmid is not replicated by the host cell and is not partitioned to all daughter cells during division, so its copy number falls and expression ceases.
• BHost DNA polymerase replaces the plasmid sequence with the original defective allele, which restores the disease phenotype.
• CThe bacterial plasmid cannot be transcribed in human cells, because prokaryotic promoters are never active in eukaryotes, so the protein was only transiently made from the initial transfection.
• DThe therapeutic protein is intrinsically unstable and is degraded within hours of translation, so its detection after several weeks must reflect only the first few days of synthesis.

Q10 · Zoology · Biotechnology and its Applications

Golden rice is a genetically modified crop that was developed for:

• Aresistance to bollworms
• Ban enhanced nutritional value, as it is enriched in vitamin 'A'
• Ctolerance to drought and salt
• Dresistance to a root nematode