Basic Biology Practice Test: Biotechnology | Practice Test / Quiz / MCQs

1. A gene that contains introns can be made shorter (but remain functional) for genetic engineering purposes by using

a restriction enzyme to cut the gene into shorter pieces.DNA polymerase to reconstruct the gene from its polypeptide product.RNA polymerase to transcribe the gene.reverse transcriptase to reconstruct the gene from its mRNADNA ligase to put together fragments of the DNA that code for a particular polypeptide.

2. DNA fragments from a gel are transferred to a nitrocellulose paper during the procedure called Southern blotting. What is the purpose of transferring the DNA from a gel to a nitrocellulose paper?

to transfer only the DNA that is of interestto separate the two complementary DNA strandsto prepare the DNA for digestion with restriction enzymesto separate out the PCRsto attach the DNA fragments to a permanent substrate

4. In 1997, Dolly the sheep was cloned. Which of the following processes was used?

separation of an early stage sheep blastula into separate cells, one of which was incubated in a surrogate ewefusion of an adult cell's nucleus with an enucleated sheep egg, followed by incubation in a surrogatereplication and dedifferentiation of adult stem cells from sheep bone marrowuse of mitochondrial DNA from adult female cells of another eweisolation of stem cells from a lamb embryo and production of a zygote equivalent

5. Yeast artificial chromosomes contain which of the following elements?

centromeres, telomeres, and an origin of replicationcentromeres onlytelomeres onlycentromeres and telomeres onlyorigin of replication only

6. To introduce a particular piece of DNA into an animal cell, such as that of a mouse, you would find more probable success with which of the following methods?

infecting the mouse cell with a Ti plasmidtranscription and translationintroducing a plasmid into the cellthe shotgun approachelectroporation followed by recombination

7. Silencing of selected genes is often done using RNA interference (RNAi). Which of the following questions would not be answered with this process?

Is the gene on Drosophila chromosome 2L at this locus responsible for part of its production of nitrogen waste?Will the disabling of this gene in Drosophila and in a mouse cause similar results?What will happen in this insect's digestion if gene 173 is not able to be translated?Is gene HA292 responsible for this disorder in humans?What is the function of gene 432 in this species of annelid?

8. Which of the following is true of embryonic stem cells but not of adult stem cells?

They make up the majority of cells of the tissue from which they are derived.They can continue to replicate for an indefinite period.One aim of using them is to provide cells for repair of diseased tissue.They can provide enormous amounts of information about the process of gene regulation.They can differentiate into many cell types.

9. In large scale, genome-wide association studies in humans, correlation is sought between

single nucleotide polymorphisms in two or more adjacent genes.large inversions that displace the centromere.single nucleotide polymorphisms found in families with a particular introns sequence.lengthy sequences that might be shared by most members of a population.single nucleotide polymorphisms found only in persons with a particular disorder.

10. DNA microarrays have made a huge impact on genomic studies because they

can be used to eliminate the function of any gene in the genome.allow physical maps of the genome to be assembled in a very short time.dramatically enhance the efficiency of restriction enzymes.allow the expression of many or even all of the genes in the genome to be compared at once.can be used to introduce entire genomes into bacterial cells.

11. Which of the following best describes the complete sequence of steps occurring during every cycle of PCR? 1. The primers hybridize to the target DNA 2. The mixture is heated to a high temperature to denature the double-stranded target DNA 3. Fresh DNA polymerase is added. 4. DNA polymerase extends the primers to make a copy of the target DNA

3, 4, 1, 22, 3, 43, 4, 21, 3, 2, 42, 1, 4

12. Why are BACs preferred today rather than bacteriophages for making genomic libraries?

Larger BACs are easier to store.The BAC carries more DNA The BAC can carry entire genes and their regulatory elements, and larger BACs are easier to store.The BAC can carry entire genes and their regulatory elements.The BAC carries more DNA , the BAC can carry entire genes and their regulatory elements, and larger BACs are easier to store.

13. In order to identify a specific restriction fragment using a probe, what must be done?

The fragments must be separated by electrophoresis.The fragments must be treated with heat or chemicals to separate the strands of the double helix.The fragments must be separated by electrophoresis and the fragments must be treated with heat or chemicals to separate the strands of the double helix.The probe must be hybridized with the fragment.The fragments must be separated by electrophoresis, the fragments must be treated with heat or chemicals to separate the strands of the double helix, and the probe must be hybridized with the fragment.

14. One successful form of gene therapy has involved delivery of an allele for the enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADD) to bone marrow cells of a child with SCID, and delivery of these engineered cells back to the bone marrow of the affected child. What is one major reason for the success of this procedure as opposed to many other efforts at gene therapy?

The ADA-introduced allele causes all other ADA-negative cells to die.The engineered bone marrow cells from this patient can be used for any other SCID patient.The immune system fails to recognize cells with the variant gene.The engineered cells, when reintroduced into the patient, find their way back to the bone marrow.No vector is required to introduce the allele into ADA-negative cells.

15. In recent times, it has been shown that adult cells can be induced to become pluripotent stem cells (iPS). In order to make this conversion, what has been done to the adult cells?

The nucleus of an embryonic cell is used to replace the nucleus of an adult cell.An adenovirus vector is used to transfer embryonic gene products into adult cells.The adult stem cells must be fused with embryonic cells.Cytoplasm from embryonic cells is injected into the adult cells.A retrovirus is used to introduce four specific regulatory genes.

16. Expression of a cloned eukaryotic gene in a bacterial cell involves many challenges. The use of mRNA and reverse transcriptase is part of a strategy to solve the problem of

post-translational processing.post-transcriptional processing.electroporation.nucleic acid hybridization.restriction fragment ligation.

17. Assume that you are trying to insert a gene into a plasmid. Someone gives you a preparation of genomic DNA that has been cut with restriction enzyme X. The gene you wish to insert has sites on both ends for cutting by restriction enzyme Y. You have a plasmid with a single site for Y, but not for X. Your strategy should be to

cut the plasmid twice with restriction enzyme Y and ligate the two fragments onto the ends of the DNA fragments cut with restriction enzyme X.cut the DNA again with restriction enzyme Y and insert these fragments into the plasmid cut with the same enzyme.cut the plasmid with restriction enzyme X and then insert the gene into the plasmid.cut the plasmid with restriction enzyme X and insert the fragments cut with restriction enzyme Y into the plasmid.insert the fragments cut with restriction enzyme X directly into the plasmid without cutting the plasmid.

18. Which of the following techniques used to analyze gene function depends on the specificity of DNA base complementarity?

Northern blottingin vitro mutagenesisuse of RNAiin situ hybridizationrestriction fragment analysis

19. Pax-6 is a gene that is involved in eye formation in many invertebrates, such as Drosophila. Pax-6 is found as well in vertebrates. A Pax-6 gene from a mouse can be expressed in a fly and the protein (PAX-6) leads to a compound fly eye. This information suggests which of the following?

Pax-6 is highly conserved and shows shared evolutionary ancestry.PAX-6 from a mouse can function in a fly, but a fly's Pax-6 gene cannot function in a mouse.PAX-6 proteins have identical amino acid sequences.PAX-6 proteins are different for formation of different kinds of eyes.Pax-6 genes are identical in nucleotide sequence.

20. The reason for using Taq polymerase for PCR is that

it is heat stable and can withstand the temperature changes of the cycler.it has regions that are complementary to primers.only minute amounts are needed for each cycle of PCR.All of these are correct.it binds more readily than other polymerases to primer.

21. A researcher is using adult stem cells and comparing them to other adult cells from the same tissue. Which of the following is a likely finding?

The nonstem cells have fewer repressed genes.The two kinds of cells have virtually identical gene expression patterns in microarrays.The nonstem cells have lost the promoters for more genes.The cells from the two sources exhibit different patterns of DNA methylation.Adult stem cells have more DNA nucleotides than their counterparts.

22. A researcher has used in vitro mutagenesis to mutate a cloned gene and then has reinserted this into a cell. In order to have the mutated sequence disable the function of the gene, what must then occur?

replication of the cloned gene using a bacterial plasmidattachment of the mutated gene to an existing mRNA to be translatedrecombination resulting in replacement of the wild type with the mutated genetranscription of the cloned gene using a BACuse of a microarray to verify continued expression of the original gene

23. Why might a laboratory be using dideoxy nucleotides?

to clone the breakpoints of cut DNA to produce cDNA from mRNAto sequence a DNA fragmentto separate DNA fragmentsto visualize DNA expression

24. Which of the following is one of the technical reasons why gene therapy is problematic?

Most cells with engineered genes overwhelm other cells in a tissue.Cells with transferred genes are unlikely to replicate.Most cells with an engineered gene do not produce gene product.Transferred genes may not have appropriately controlled activity.mRNA from transferred genes cannot be translated.

25. How does a bacterial cell protect its own DNA from restriction enzymes?

by adding methyl groups to adenines and cytosinesby forming 'sticky ends' of bacterial DNA to prevent the enzyme from attachingby reinforcing the bacterial DNA structure with covalent phosphodiester bondsby adding histones to protect the double-stranded DNA by using DNA ligase to seal the bacterial DNA into a closed circle

25 Questions

❤ If you liked Fatskills, consider supporting us by checking out The Life Manuals You Never Got.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know?
Privacy | Terms |

Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
© 2026 Fatskills.com

All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement.

25 Questions

❤ If you liked Fatskills, consider supporting us by checking out The Life Manuals You Never Got.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know? Privacy | Terms |

Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson© 2026 Fatskills.com

All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know?
Privacy | Terms |

Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
© 2026 Fatskills.com