2.3.

3 Unit 3:
We are going to give you some suggestions in this section on how to deal with portions of Unit-3. We
would be focusing on the following questions which generally one has in his/her mind when one thinks
about the easiest way to prepare for Unit-3.

Is this topic important keeping in mind CSIR-NET is in 3 months?

Which books to follow?

How many questions can I expect from this topic?

How to prepare in less time?

Topic-wise suggestion:

Is this topic important?

This Unit is of critical importance. It contains all the very fundamental concepts of Cell and
Molecular Biology. More over every year, you can find at least 7-8 questions from this Unit. These
questions come in Part A sometimes and Part B at times. The questions will be purely fact-based.
This gives you a chance to easily answer them and score well if the basic concepts are dealt
thoroughly.

How shall I start?

To deal with this Unit in a very short period of time, you need to study just the standard books.
Preparation of point wise notes on each topic is very important. This will help you to cover up and
revise the whole unit very easily. This is a Basic Unit to start with. You should keep in mind that
the topics are interlinked.
Which books to follow?

You can follow any standard Book for this Unit. For Additional reference, I will suggest the following
books:

Molecular Biology of the Gene by Watson:

o This book will give you a compact and readable introduction to the underlying
molecular principles governing the physical behavior of high polymers. It gives a clear
view of all the important process of synthesis and fabrication of polymers. Over all
good book for qualitative discussion.
Cell and Molecular Biology by Gerald Karp:
o This book can be used to explore core concepts in considerable depth, and it presents

experimental detail which helps to explain and reinforce the concept being explained.
This book offers an exceedingly clear presentation and excellent art program
pertaining to the respective topics of the unit.
Lehninger's Principles of Biochemistry:
o Few topics from this book will allow you to understand the concepts of molecular
biology more precisely.

Time for this Unit:

We need to keep in mind that we have limited time to prepare. So in spite of this unit being very
vast and related to important fundamentals, you need to use your time optimally. If you provide
2hours per day for this Unit for duration of 15 days, it is implied that you will be thorough with
the respective topics of the Unit.

Prioritize the subtopics:

The Unit contains all the concepts of The Central Dogma. Instead of choosing easy-to-go-with
Topics first, you should prioritize the topics systematically. Start with DNA Replication and its sub
topics first. Follow it with the concepts of Transcription and then all the concepts of Gene
Regulation. This Approach will allow you to get a clear and concise way to understand and
remember the concepts.

Suggestions:
 Do not skip any topic/ sub-topic from this Unit.
Basic concepts of this Unit will be helpful for other units too.
Unit 13 is interrelated to this Unit.
So deal with this Unit thoroughly.

Topic-wise suggestion:
Translation and Gene Regulation:

Both these topics of Unit 3 are very important. You have absolutely no areas to
ignore or skip regarding these topics and sub-topics related to them.

DNA Replication and Transcription:

These two topics are to be dealt carefully. Being one of the most important and
fundamental concepts of Molecular Biology, clear conceptual knowledge pertaining to
these topics and sub topics is important.
DNA Replication, Repair and Recombination

Part B

1. In which form of DNA, the number of base pairs per helical turn is 10.5?
a. A
b. B
c. X
d. Z

2. Reverse transcriptase has both ribonuclease and polymerase activities. Ribonuclease

activity is required for
a. The synthesis of new RNA strand
b. The degradation of RNA strand
c. The synthesis of new DNA strand
d. The degradation of DNA strand

3. Restriction endonuclease cleaves DNA molecules at specific recognition sites. One such
enzymes has 4 recognition sites on a circular DNA molecule. After complete digestion,
how many fragments would be produced upon reaction with this enzyme?
a. 4
b. 5
c. 3
d. 6

4. While replicating DNA, the rate of mis-incorporation by DNA Polymerase is 1 in 103

nucleotides. However the actual error rate in the replicated DNA is 1 in 109 nucleotides
incorporated. This is achieved mainly due to
a. Spontaneous excision of mis-incorporated nucleotides
b. 3 5 proof reading activity of DNA polymerase
c. Termination of DNA polymerase at mis-incorporated sites
d. 5 3 proof reading activity

5. The base analog 2-aminopurine pairs with thymine, and can occasionally pair with
cytosine. The type of mutation induced by 2-aminopurine is
a. Transversion
b. Transition
c. Deletion
 d. Nonsense

6. A single stranded nick in the parental DNA helix just ahead of a replication fork causes
the replication fork to break. Recovery from this calamity requires
a. DNA ligase
b. DNA primase
c. Site-specific recombination
d. Homologous recombination

7. Site specific recombination results in precise DNA rearrangements, which is limited to

specific sequences. The enzymes that are required to carry out the processes are
a. Restriction endonuclease and DNA polymerase
b. Nuclease and ligase
c. DNA polymerase and ligase
d. DNA polymerase and DNA gyrase

8. A change on one locus to another locus of the same gene results in mutation. The 2
copies of mutated same gene is termed as
a. Complementation group
b. Linkage group
c. Duplicate genes
d. Allele

9. During the process of DNA replication, primase uses the following DNA sequence as a
template to make a primer:

5'-GATTCAAGTAGTC-3'

Which of the following is the correct primer sequence synthesized using this template?

a. 5'-GAUUCAAGUAGUC-3'
b. 5'-GATTCAAGTAGTC-3'
c. 5'-CUAAGUUCAUCAG-3'
d. 5'-GACUACUUGAAUC-3'

10. In human beings the inherited autosomal recessive disease xeroderma pigmentosum is
the result of a defect in the
a. SOS repair
 b. Repair of ultraviolet light damaged DNA
c. Repair of alkylated DNA Mismatch repair
d. Mismatch repair

11. Which of the following deaminates to uracil?

a. A.
b. B
c. C
d. D

12. What is the primary function of primosomes?

a. To add the 5'-methyl cap to pre-mRNA
b. To prevent binding of the ribosome to the mRNA molecule
c. To facilitate the splicing process
d. To create RNA primers for DNA replication

13. What event(s) can cause a cytosine to become a thymine in the genome?
a. depurination
b. methylation of cytosine followed by deamination
c. exposure to UV light
d. methylation only

14. Which DNA repair mechanism is primarily responsible for correcting apurinic or
apyrimidinic sites?
a. Uracil glycosylase
b. AP endonuclease
c. Homologous recombination
d. Only DNA ligase

15. The name of the strand that is being copied in the direction of the advancing replication
fork and is synthesized almost continuously
a. Okazaki strand
b. Sense strand
 c. Antisense strand
d. Leading strand

16. In mammalian cells, DNA polymerase is responsible for the

a. Elongation of the leading strand
b. Elongation of the lagging strand
c. Synthesiss of RNA primers
d. Replication of mitochondrial DNA

17. Mutations in homologs of bacterial MutS and MutL in humans cause Bloom's Syndrome
a. Hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer
b. Fanconi's anemia
c. Xeroderma pigmentosum
d. Ataxia telangiectasia

18. Okazaki fragments are

a. RNA prmers which are required for DNA polymerase I to initiate synthesis of a
complimentary strand of DNA on the parent template strand
b. Short stretches of DNA which are joined to form the lagging strand of replicating
DNA molecule
c. Precursor oligonucleotide fragments which are ligated together to form the
leading strand of the replicating DNA molecule
d. DNA hydrolytic fragments revealed as a sign of apoptosis

19. In the DNA polymerase reaction, incoming nucleotides are covalently bonded to the
___________ end of the growing DNA chain. Each successive nucleotide is linked to the
growing chain by a _______________ bond.
a. 5'- phosphoester
b. 3'- hydrogen
c. 3'- phosphoanhydride
d. 3'- phosphoester

20. To start a complementary DNA synthesis on a parent strand, DNA polymerase requires a
primer which is
a. protein complex enabling DNA polymerase to access parent DNA strands
b. single nucleotide with a free hydroxyl group at 3'-position
 c. short DNA oligonucleotide synthesized on the parent strand
d. short RNA oligonucleotide synthesized on the parent strand

21. During which phase of the cell cycle does DNA replication occurs?
a. G2 Phase
b. Mitosis
c. S Phase
d. G1 Phase

22. The lagging strand is synthesized discontinuously at the replication fork because
a. the lagging strand template is discontinuous.
b. DNA polymerase always falls off the template DNA every ten nucleotides or so.
c. DNA polymerase removes the last few nucleotides synthesized whenever it
stops.
d. DNA polymerase can polymerize nucleotides only in the 5'-to-3' direction.

23. The enzyme uracil glycosylase is necessary in order to

a. Remove a uracil base from DNA
b. Add thedeoxyribose to form deoxynucleotides
c. Reseal nicks in a DNA molecule
d. Convert cytosine to uracil

24. AP repair acts on nucleotides that

a. Underwent methylation
b. Were crosslinked by UV light
c. Lost their base
d. Underwent deamination

25. DNA replication is

a. semi-conservative.
b. liberal.
c. dispersive.
d. conservative.

26. DNA replication

 a. is not edited once polymerization has occurred.
b. is conservative.
c. requires a type of RNA polymerase.
d. is partially regulated by promoter/terminator sites.

27. Topoisomerase enzymes are important in the replication of DNA because they
a. anneal Okazaki fragments
b. "proofread" newly synthesized DNA
c. synthesize the RNA primer fragments
d. relax supercoiled DNA

28. The enzyme that synthesizes short stretches of ribonucleic acid (about 10 nucleotides in
length) that are complementary and antiparallel to the DNA template is called:
a. Helicase
b. Single-strand binding protein
c. Primase
d. Ligase

29. What is the one clinical feature shared by disorders caused by defects in DNA repair
mechanisms?
a. Skeletal and limb abnormalities
b. Short stature
c. Mental retardation and development delay
d. Increased risk of cancer

30. _______________ joins DNA fragments to the lagging strand.

a. Ligases
b. Helicases
c. Centromeres
d. Telomeres

31. Proofreading is preformed by the _______________________ (activity) of DNA

polymerase?
a. oxidoreductase
b. exonuclease
c. polymerase
 d. kinase

32. A change on one locus to another locus of the same gene results in mutation. The 2
copies of mutated same gene is termed as
a. Complementation group
b. Linkage group
c. Duplicate genes
d. Allele

33. Which of the following statements is true regarding transposons?

a. They are sequences of tRNA that can move around in the genome.
b. They exist in corn, but are not found in the human genome.
c. They are the most abundant type of repeat in the genome.
d. All of the above are true regarding transposons.

34. Which molecule serves to destabilize the DNA helix in order to open it up, creating a
replication fork?
a. DNA polymerase
b. single strand binding proteins
c. DNA gyrase
d. DNA helicase

35. In vivo synthesis of DNA is

A. 5' to 3'.

B. 3' to 5'.

C. 5' to 2'.

a. both A and B.
b. A, B, and C.
c. Only A
d. neither A, B, nor C.

36. The discovery of Okazaki fragments suggested that DNA synthesis is sometimes
a. semiconservative.
b. discontinuous.
 c. continuous.
d. 3' to 5'.

37. In the Meselson-Stahl experiment, which mode of replication can be eliminated based
on data derived after one generation of replication?
a. Conservative
b. semiconservative
c. dispersive
d. all three modes

38. What activity of DNA polymerase I (pol I of Kornberg's enzyme) is responsible for the
removal and replacement of the RNA primer?
a. 5' to 3' polymerase
b. 3' to 5' polymerase
c. 5' to 3' exonuclease
d. Primase

39. Which is not a requirement for DNA replication?

a. ready supply of ATP
b. primer
c. ready supply of dNTPs (all four deoxynucleoside triphosphates)
d. none of the above

40. Which one of the following does not explain how human cells can apparently replicate
DNA much faster than a bacterium?
a. There is more DNA polymerase in eukaryotes.
b. The eukaryotic DNA polymerase moves much more quickly.
c. DNA synthesis occurs simultaneously at multiple points along the chromosome
in eukaryotes.
d. There are more origins of replication in eukaryotes.

41. The primer required for DNA synthesis is made by the following enzyme:
a. DNA polymerase III
b. Replicase
c. Primase
d. DNA polymerase I
42. Okazaki fragments
a. are synthesized by primase.
b. add nucleotides to the elongating DNA.
c. remove the primer.
d. are formed in the lagging strand.

43. The actual synthesis of DNA in E. coli is the function of

a. polymerase I
b. primase
c. polymerase III
d. DNA ligase

44. The first nuclear transplant from an animal to an egg that produced a normal adult was
performed on a
a. frog
b. sheep
c. cat
d. dog

45. All of the following were outcomes of Avery's experiment on "the active principle"
except
a. the array of the elements of purified principle agreed closely with DNA and the
principle centrifuged to the same level as DNA.
b. protein digesting enzymes did not affect the sample
c. the extraction of lipids and proteins from the principle only slightly reduced its
activity
d. DNA-digesting enzyme, DNase, destroyed all transcription activity.

46. Polymerase III is actually a complex containing

a. catalytic subunits
b. proofreading subunits
c. "sliding clamp" subunits
d. All of the above

47. The fact that some viruses use DNA to direct their heredity was demonstrated by
 a. finding radioactive phosphorus from a bacterium in a bacteriophage.
b. finding that radioactive phosphorus from a bacteriophage had mutated in
bacterium.
c. finding radioactive phosphorus from a bacteriophage in a bacterium.
d. finding radioactive sulfur from a bacterium in a bacteriophage.

48. Hammerling chose Acetabularia as his model organism because it was

a. large and differentiated
b. easier to grow than fruit flies
c. large and reproduced only asexually
d. grown abundantly in the Mediterranean area where he lived

49. With few exceptions, all nuclei of eukaryotes contain

a. genes to specify the portion of the organism in which they are found
b. all the information needed for growing the whole organism
c. all of the chromosomes except sex chromosomes which are restricted to sex
organs
d. single stranded DNA

50. Although the work produced important results, Rosalind Franklin's work was hindered
by the lack of
a. electricity
b. strong x-rays
c. true crystals of DNA
d. thin layer chromatography

51. The identification of the transforming principle proved that

a. dead bacteria are as lethal as live ones
b. Streptococcus pneumoniae evolved from Pneumococcus
c. genetic information is contained in DNA
d. there is no protein in chromosomes

52. Which three people were awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the structure of
DNA: the double helix?
a. Francis Crick, James Watson and Rosalind Franklin
b. James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins
 c. Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and Francis Crick
d. James Watson, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins

53. Which of the following reactions is required for proofreading (i.e. correcting replication
errors) during DNA replication by DNA polymerase III?
a. 3' - 5' exonuclease activity
b. 5' - 3' exonuclease activity
c. 3' - 5' endonuclease activity
d. 5' - 3' endonuclease activity

54. How does the mismatch repair system distinguish between the parental (i.e. correct)
DNA strand and the newly synthesised strand containing the mismatched base?
a. Thymine in the parental strand of the helix is methylated at GATC.
b. Thymine in the new strand of the helix is methylated at GATC.
c. Guanine in the parental strand of the helix is methylated at GATC.
d. Guanine in the new strand of the helix is methylated at GATC.

55. What is the name of the DNA repair system in E. coli in which dual incisions are made in
the damaged part of the double helix, and a 12-13 base segment is removed and
replaced with new DNA?
a. Mismatch repair
b. Base excision repair
c. Nucleotide excision repair
d. AP site repair

56. Which of the following is the name of the human genetic disorder resulting from defects
in nucleotide excision repair?
a. Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC)
b. Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP)
c. Lynch syndrome
d. Diabetes

57. Which of the following is true of histones?

a. Histones are acidic proteins.
b. Histones are found in animal chromatin but in not plant cells.
 c. The amino acid sequences of histone proteins are very similar in different
organisms.
d. All histones form part of the nucleosome core particles in chromatin.

58. What is the source of the repair template during excision repair?
a. There is none, since repair is by direct reversal.
b. There is none, since repair is bypassed.
c. The strand complementary to the damaged DNA.
d. The sister chromatid of the damaged DNA.

59. Which statement about V(D)J rejoining is FALSE:

a. It is utilized to generate both antibody diversity and T cell receptor diversity.
b. It involves both site-specific recombination and homologous recombination.
c. Imprecise opening and repair of hairpins leads to increased variability.
d. The rearrangements lead to the elimination of some genomic DNA sequences.

60. Each of these is a consequence of transposons in genomes EXCEPT

a. Insertional inactivation of a gene
b. Insertional activation of a neighboring gene
c. Creation of a base substitution mutation leading to a nonsense codon.
d. Deletion of a region between transposons by homologous recombination

61. Which of the following statements about gel electrophoresis is TRUE?

a. Agarose gels are used to separate smaller DNA fragments while polyacrylamide
gels are better for separating larger fragments.
b. Larger DNA fragments move through agarose more rapidly than smaller
fragments.
c. DNA separated in a gel cannot be transferred to a nitrocellulose filter
d. Ethidium bromide can be used to visualize double strand DNA in gels.

62. Which ONE of the following reactions DOES NOT require the energy of ATP hydrolysis:
a. Formation of the MutS, MutL, MutH complex
b. Photoreactivation of a thymine dimer
c. Binding of RecA to single-strand DNA
d. Unwinding of incised DNA by the UvrD helicase
63. Which one of the following statements regarding the SOS error-prone repair system is
FALSE:
a. Once repair is completed the system turns itself off.
b. Damage that blocks replication and leads to exposure of single-strand DNA
induces the system.
c. RecA must help to cleave LexA and activate the system.
d. This error prone repair system primarily results in frameshift mutations

64. Which statement about synthetic single-strand oligonucleotides is FALSE?

a. They are synthesized in the 3 to 5 direction and have a 5 OH
b. They can be used as primers for PCR
c. They can be 5 labeled with 32P ATP
d. They can be cleaved by restriction endonucleases

65. The one FALSE statement about homologous recombination is:

a. In general the closer two genes are to one another physically, the less likely it is
that recombination will occur between them.
b. Regions of heteroduplex DNA results from branch migration
c. It is a repair mechanism as well as a force driving evolution
d. The same proteins that carry out homologous recombination are also necessary
for nonhomologous recombination

66. Which statement about Southern blotting and Northern blotting is TRUE?
a. Southern blotting identifies separated RNA while Northern blotting identifies
separated DNA.
b. Both techniques require that the nucleic acids transferred to a filter be double
stranded.
c. Southern blotting requires synthetic oligonucleotides while Northern blotting
requires radioactivity.
d. Neither can be used quantitatively

67. ALL of the following statements about retroviruses and/or retrotransposons are true
EXCEPT:
a. They both use the enzyme reverse transcriptase to copy their RNA genomes into
double stranded DNA.
 b. The reverse transcriptase of retroviruses and retrotransposons is structurally
related to the transposase of DNA transposons.
c. Retroviruses are infectious while retrotransposons are endogenous mobile
elements.
d. Short target site duplications are characteristic of both types of elements, as
well as DNA transposons, when they insert into chromosomal DNA.
e. Retroviruses and many retrotransposons have long terminal repeats (LTRs)
flanking their coding regions.

68. Which statement is FALSE about patch recombinants and splice recombinants?
a. Patch recombinants lead to crossover products
b. Splice recombinants contain a region of heteroduplex DNA
c. Both can be formed using either the original Holliday model or the double
strand break repair model
d. In splice recombinants all 4 strands are cut and rejoined

69. Which ONE of the following statements is FALSE?

a. 5-methyl cytosine spontaneously deaminates to thymine
b. Cytosine spontaneously deaminates to uracil.
c. Cytosines within a gene are mutational hotspots but 5-methyl cytosines are not.
d. A mutation inactivating uracil-DNA-glycosylase would have a mutator
phenotype.

70. Which one statement about mutations is FALSE

a. Transitions are more common than transversions.
b. A substitution causing a stop codon is called a nonsense mutation.
c. The normal function of many mutator genes is in replication or repair.
d. Mutations can cause reversion of a mutant phenotype.

71. ALL of the statements about cloning are true EXCEPT:

a. Cloning an insert fragment into the ori region of a plasmid will likely inactivate
the plasmids ability to replicate.
b. Phosphatase blocks vector religation by adding a phosphate group to the 3 OH.
c. T4 DNA ligase requires ATP to join DNA ends.
d. Cosmid vectors can accommodate larger DNA fragments than simple plasmid
vectors.
72. Which of the following proteins is considered a "DNA mutase"?
a. DNA polymerase I
b. DNA polymerase III
c. UmuCD'
d. RecA

73. ALL of the following are involved in aspects of general (i.e. homologous) recombination
in E. coli EXCEPT:
a. Chi sequence
b. Dam methylase
c. RecA
d. RecBCD

74. Which statement about restriction endonucleases is FALSE:

a. Type II restriction endonucleases generally recognize palindromic sequences
b. In general, the longer the sequence recognized by a restriction endonuclease,
the smaller the average size fragment.
c. Restriction endonucleases cleave both strands of DNA and leave 5 phosphates
and 3 OHs.
d. Two different strains of the same species of bacteria can encode different
restriction endonucleases.

75. All of the following statements about the RecBCD system are true EXCEPT:
a. The proteins in the complex have multiple functions.
b. Chi sequences represent recombination hot spots in the E. coli genome.
c. Chi sequences are under-represented in the E. coli genome, to minimize
recombination.
d. After recognizing a chi sequence, the RecBCD system helps to load RecA onto
single strand DNA.

76. Phage lambda:

a. Is easier to use than a plasmid.
b. Can be used to clone DNA fragments > 50 kb in length.
c. Contain sticky COS sites that help it form concatamers and to be packaged
correctly into viral heads.
d. Forms plaques that are bigger and more obvious than bacterial colonies.
77. Xeroderma pigmentosa
a. Is a human syndrome caused by a missense mutation in the beta-globin gene.
b. Can be caused by mutations in several different genes involved in nucleotide
excision repair
c. Can be due to a mutation in the photoreactivation enzyme.
d. Is a species of bacteria from which the restriction enzyme XpiI is made

78. Which ONE of the following statements about the Holliday model for homologous
recombination is FALSE:
a. For recombination to occur, 4 strands of DNA must be cleaved and religated.
b. Branch migration leads to a region of heteroduplex DNA whether or not
recombinants are formed.
c. The Holliday model can be used to explain crossing over in meiosis.
d. The Holliday model usually involves new DNA synthesis.

79. Which statement about denaturation and renaturation is FALSE:

a. Heat or high pH will denature double-stranded DNA.
b. The higher the GC content of the DNA, the lower the melting temperature.
c. The more mismatches between two strands of DNA, the lower the melting
temperature.
d. DNA probes and target sequences must be single stranded to anneal to one
another during Southern blotting.

80. Which of the following is False about reverse transcriptase:

a. It is used by retroviruses as part of their life cycle.
b. It is useful for making cDNA.
c. It synthesizes RNA.
d. It is a component of telomerase

81. Which of the following situations is LEAST LIKELY to result in a base substitution
mutation?
a. A tautomeric shift during replication
b. An alkylating agent adding an ethyl group at the O-6 position of a guanine
residue
c. A mutase bypassing a DNA lesion.
d. A chromosomal rearrangement leading to an inversion.
82. Sickle cell anemia is caused by a mutation in:
a. the coding region of the beta-globin gene
b. the promoter region of the beta-globin gene
c. the origin of replication nearest to the beta-globin gene
d. the coding region of the alpha-globin gene

83. Which of the following is True about DNA replication in general:

a. DNA replication proceeds by a conservative mechanism.
b. DNA replication always initiates with RNA primers.
c. DNA replication is always continuous on both the leading and lagging strands.
d. DNA replication does not require a template.

84. Which of the following is a biological function of E. coli DNA gyrase (a type II
topoisomerase)?
a. It decreases the number of negative supercoils by increments of 1.
b. It is needed to decatenate (separate) the two circular double stranded DNA
daughter molecules at the end of replication.
c. It is needed to unwind the double stranded DNA by breaking hydrogen bonds
between the base pairs.
d. It can add telomeres to the ends of chromosomes.

85. ALL of the following statements about retroviruses and/or retrotransposons are TRUE
EXCEPT:
a. They both use the enzyme reverse transcriptase to copy their RNA genomes into
double stranded DNA.
b. They primarily utilize host gene products to go from their RNA to DNA form but
use viral/transposon encoded gene products to go from their integrated DNA
forms back to RNA.
c. Retroviruses are infectious while retrotransposons are endogenous mobile
elements.
d. Short target site duplications are characteristic of both types of elements, as
well as DNA transposons, when they insert into chromosomal DNA.

86. Which of the following statements is True about eukaryotic DNA replication?
a. Eukaryotic chromosomes are circular molecules like the E. coli chromosome.
b. Eukaryotic replication does not involve Okazaki fragments.
c. There are multiple origins of replication on a eukaryotic chromosome.
 d. Eukaryotes have no requirement for topoisomerases.

87. ALL of the following transposable elements replicate through an RNA-intermediate

using reverse transcriptase EXCEPT:
a. HIV in humans
b. L1 LINE elements in mammals
c. Tn9 in E. coli
d. Ty1 in yeast

88. Which of the following statements is True about Okazaki fragments?

a. They do not need to be joined.
b. They are temporary intermediates in the synthesis of the lagging strand.
c. They are joined by DNA ligase before their RNA primers are removed.
d. They require reverse transcriptase.

89. Of the following statements regarding the dam methylase dependent mismatch
correction system, the ONLY ONE which is TRUE is:

a. The MutL-Mut S-Mut H complex recognizes 5-methyl cytosine residues in the

context of C/C*
b. The system typically repairs thymine dimer lesions.
c. The MutL-Mut S-Mut H complex makes an endonucleolytic cut on the
methylated strand of DNA.
d. Repair does not require DNA polymerase.

90. (The following five statements are factually accurate.) The earliest step in initiation
from the origin of replication (OriC) in E. coli is:
a. The DnaB helicase unwinding the duplex.
b. Synthesis by DNA Pol III.
c. The DnaA (Initiator Factor Protein) binding four 9-bp repeats on the OriC.
d. Primase synthesizing an RNA primer.

91. "Jumping genes" that have the ability to move within and between chromosomes are
called
a. introns.
b. oncogenes.
c. transposons.
 d. retroviruses.

92. A deletion of one base pair that alters the sequence of codons, as the loss of "A" in C-C-
G-T-A-G-C... to form C-C-G-T-G-C... is called a(an)
a. transposon.
b. point mutation.
c. carcinogen.
d. frameshift mutation.

93. All of these are considered carcinogens EXCEPT

a. cigarette smoke.
b. ultraviolet light.
c. cabbage and related vegetables.
d. X-rays.

94. An oncogene is
a. a viral gene with no relation to the host cell's genes.
b. a mutated form of a proto-oncogene.
c. a bacterial gene that causes cancer in the host.
d. always seen in human cancer cells.

95. You are more likely to develop some forms of cancer if you:
a. are exposed to higher doses of radiation including X rays.
b. are exposed to carcinogens.
c. have a high incidence of cancer in your family history leading to your hereditary
lineage.
d. All of the choices are correct

96. The ______ are associated with breast cancer as well as a substantial proportion of
ovarian cancers.
a. p53 gene
b. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes
c. ras oncogene
d. bcl-2 protein
97. The ______ stimulate(s) apoptosis.
a. p53 gene
b. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes
c. ras oncogene
d. RB tumor-repressor gene

98. Malfunction in the ____ is involved in retinoblastoma.

a. p53 gene
b. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes
c. ras oncogene
d. RB allele

99. Transposons.
a. alter the expression of neighboring genes especially if the transposon is a
regulator gene.
b. have been discovered in corn, fruit flies, bacteria, and humans.
c. compose a significant portion of the human genome.
d. All of the choices are correct.

100. Point mutations

a. are due to a change in one DNA nucleotide.
b. can cause a genetic disease such as sickle cell disease that is due to a base
change that codes for valine rather than glutamate.
c. may have no effect on an organism.
d. All of the choices are correct.

101. Frameshift mutations

a. can result in a completely new codon sequence that results in the production of
non-functional proteins.
b. applies to the reading frame (sequence of codons) being changed.
c. can occur when one of more nucleotides is deleted from a DNA sequence.
d. All of the choices are correct.

102. Which sequence represents increasing levels of chromosomal organization,

from most dispersed to most condensed?
a. nucleosomes30 nm filamentssupercoiled loopsmitotic chromosomes
 b. nucleosomessupercoiled loops30 nm filamentsmitotic chromosomes
c. nucleosomes30 nm filamentsmitotic chromosomessupercoiled loops
d. mitotic chromosomes30 nm filamentssupercoiled loopsnucleosomes

103. When chromatin is treated with nonspecific nucleases, what is the length of the
resulting pieces of DNA?
a. random numbers of base pairs
b. about 60 base pairs
c. about 8 base pairs
d. about 200 base pairs

104. When all or a piece of a chromosome becomes attached to another

chromosome, the aberration is called a(n):
a. inversion.
b. translocation.
c. deletion.
d. duplication.

105. All are true for DNA polymerase except one-

a. Has exonuclease activity
b. Works only in 5`to 3` direction
c. Edits as it synthesizes
d. Synthesizes RNA primer to initiate DNA synthesis.

106. Which of the following is an anticancer drug?

a. 5- methyl thymidine
b. Ribose phosphate
c. Ara C
d. PRPP (5- phosphoribosylpyrophosphate)

107. A 20 year old man was diagnosed with abnormal form of globin (Hemoglobin
Constant Spring) which is longer than the normal protein, which of the following point
mutation is consistent with the abnormality?
a. UAA->CAA
b. CGA>UGA
c. UAA->UAG
 d. GAC-> UAC

108. An 8 year-old boy is treated with Ciprofloxacin for some respiratory infection.
Which of the following enzyme activity is most directly affected by this drug?
a. DNA polymerase
b. Topoisomerase
c. Reverse transcriptase
d. RNA polymerase

109. A critical enzyme used directly in the synthesis of dTMP (thymidine) is

a. Carbamoyl phosphate
b. Aspartate Transcarbamoylase
c. Dihydrooratase
d. Thymidylate synthase

110. In which phase of the cell cycle does DNA replication occur?
a. G0
b. G1
c. S
d. G2

111. The enzyme responsible for continuing DNA replication in prokaryotes, once it is
initiated is:
a. DNA polymerase I
b. DNA polymerase III
c. polymerase beta
d. polymerase delta

112. In Pyrimidine Synthesis, Eukaryotes can use uracil to feedback inhibit which of
the following enzymes?
a. Carbamoyl phosphate synthase
b. Aspartate Transcarbamoylase
c. Dihydrooratase
d. Thymidylate synthase
 113. A 40-year-old alcoholic comes in with severe pain in his big toe. You decide to
administer Allopurinol to inhibit which of the following enzymes:
a. Xanthine Oxidase
b. Thymidine kinase
c. Adenosine Deaminase
d. Adenine phosphoribosyl transferase

114. Choose the nucleoside analogue used as an anticancer drug out of the
followings
a. Methotrexate
b. 6- Mercaptopurine
c. Vinblastin
d. Cytosine Arabinoside

115. Methotrexate (structural analogue of the folic acid which is competitive

inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase) is prescribed for the treatment of the malignant
tumor. On which level does methotrexate inhibit synthesis of the nucleic acids:
a. Mononucleotides synthesis
b. Replication
c. Transcription
d. Processing
e. Reparation

Part C

116. Denaturation profiles of DNA are shown below. Which of the following
observations are correct?
a. The DNA is single stranded but of different sizes
b. A + T content of A >B >C and the DNA are from complex genomes
c. G + C content of C >B >A in DNA of comparable sizes isolated from simple
genomes
d. G + C content is identical but A + T content in A >B >C in DNA of comparable
sizes isolated from simple genomes

117. In an invitro experiment using radiolabelled nucleotides, a researcher is trying to

analyze the possible products of DNA replication by resolving the products using urea-
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In one experimental set up RNase H was added (Set
 1) while in another set no RNase H was added (Set 2) The possible observations of this
experiment could be.

A. There is no difference in the mobility of labeled DNA fragments between the Set 1
and Set 2

B. There is distinct difference in the mobility of the newly synthesized labeled DNA
fragments between Set1 and Set2

C. The mobility of newly synthesized labeled DNA fragments in case of Set 1 is faster as
compared to Set 2

D. The mobility of newly synthesized labeled DNA fragments in case of Set 1 is slower as
compared to Set 2

Which of the following combinations represent correct observations?

a. A and B
b. B and C
c. A and D
d. B and D

118. There are many genetic components to the development of cancer. Some of
these involve the enzymes involved in DNA metabolism. In one such disease, Bloom's
syndrome, patients have a dramatically increased risk of cancer. It has been proposed
that the genetic defect is in a helicase. The function of a helicase in the cell is to:
a. allow single strands of DNA to form a duplex
b. ligate DNA aftr mismatches are removed
c. unwind DNA creating single strands
d. alter the activity of DNA polymerase

119. Double stranded DNA replicates in a semiconservative manner. In an invitro

DNA synthesis reaction, dideoxy CTP and dideoxy CMP were individually added in excess
(in separate reaction tubes) in addition to dNTPs and other necessary reagents. Rate of
DNA synthesis was measured by incorporation of H3-thymidine. The 4 graphs drawn
below represent the rate of DNA synthesis in two separate reaction tubes. Which of the
following graphs represent the expected data?
120. In semi-conservative mode of DNA replication, 2 parental strands unwind and
are used for DNA synthesis of new strands following the rule of complementary base
pairing. Synthesis of complementary strands require that DNA synthesis proceeds in
opposite direction, while the double helix is progressively unwinding and replicating in
only one direction. One of the DNA strands is continuously synthesized in the same
direction as the advancing replication fork and is called leading strand whereas the
other strand is synthesized discontinuously in segments and is referred to as lagging
strand. These short fragments made discontinuously are labeled as Okazaki fragments.
These Okazaki fragments need to be matured into continuous DNA strand by which one
of the following combination of enzymes?
a. DNA Pol III and DNA ligase
b. DNA Pol I and DNA ligase
c. DNA Pol II and DNA ligase
d. DNA gyrase and DNA ligase

121. A scientist in the year 2350 is advising the NASA genetic engineering
department concerning its attempt to engineer humans who can better survive the
harsh climate of a planet that has high levels of ultraviolet (UV) light. The NASA
engineers want to incorporate a group of genes that will allow epidermal cells to
produce a light absorbing pigment. Of the following genetic manipulations, which would
be most advantageous in cells in a UV-rich environment?
a. Altering a theoretical human equivalent of the bacterial RecA protein in the cells
to decrease RecA activity
b. Removing intron DNA from the engineered genes
c. Producing genes with a low thymidine content
 d. Introducing the engineered genes in an overlapping fashion into the human
genome

122. Consider the following statements regarding Cot curves.

A. Requires melting and reannealing of DNA

B. High Cot0.5 values indicate high repeat sequences

C. It is a sigmoidal curve

D. It is a plot of concentration of DNA v/s time

Which of the above statements is not true for Cot curve?

a. A and C
b. B and D
c. A and D
d. B and C

123. An actively dividing bacterial culture is grown in a medium containing

radioactive adenine (A*). After all the adenine is labeled, the bacteria are transferred to
a medium containing nonradioactive adenine (A). Following one round of DNA
replication in the nonradioactive medium, the DNA is analyzed. Which of the following
sequences could represent this DNA?

a. A*A*TTGA*TC
TT AACT AG

b. A*A T T GA*TC
TT A*A*CT AG

c. AATTGATC
TTAACTAG

d. A*A*T T GA*T C
TT A*A*CT A*G

124. Which of the following is True about the DNA Polymerase III holoenzyme of E. coli:

a. The Clamp Loader Complex is present for synthesis of the leading strand
exclusively.
b. The Pol III holoenzyme can synthesize RNA primers.
c. The Pol III holoenzyme is a symmetric dimer.
 d. The Pol III holoenzyme contains a Subunit Sliding Clamp to tether the
holoenzyme complex to the DNA, thus giving the polymerase high processivity.

125. Which ONE of the following statements about bacterial conjugation is TRUE:

a. Transfer of the F factor episome into an F- strain takes approximately 100

minutes.
b. Mapping the entire circular E. coli genome usually requires only a single Hfr
donor strain.
c. During conjugation with Hfr strains, the order in which genes enter the recipient
cell is based on their position on the chromosome.
d. The usual result of conjugation between an F+ and an F- cell is an Hfr cell.

126. Which of the following statements about retrotransposons is not correct?

a. They are mobile genetic elements residing in the genomes of all classes of
organisms
b. They are transposons that behave much like retroviruses and have a retrovirus
like structure
c. The reverse transcriptase makes a cDNA copy of the retrotransposon
d. The retrotransposon RNA is placed into virus particles

127. A 10-year-old Caucasian girl is brought in by her parents for evaluation of a skin
disorder. The child has many freckles on her face, arms, and legs. The parents were told
by previous physicians that she suffers from Xeroderma pigmentosum and that they
should limit her exposure to sun light. What is the most likely etiology of this disorder?

a. Deficient DNA replication

b. Impaired DNA repair by nucleotide excision
c. Defective RNA transcription from TATA-less promoter
d. Impaired DNA repair by photo reactivation
Answer key

1.b

2.b

3.a

4.b

5.b

6.d

7.b

8.d

9.d

10.b

11.d

12.d

13.b

14.b

15.d

16.d

17.a

18.b

19.d

20.d

21.c

22.d

23.a

24.c

25.a

26.c

27.d

28.c
29.d

30.a

31.b

32.d

33.c

34.d

35.c

36.b

37.a

38.c

39.d

40.b

41.c

42.d

43.c

44.a

45.c

46.d

47.c

48.a

49.b

50.c

51.c

52.b

53.a

54.d

55.c

56.b

57.c
58.c

59.b

60.c

61.d

62.b

63.d

64.a

65.d

66.d

67.b

68.a

69.c

70.c

71.b

72.c

73.b

74.b

75.c

76.c

77.b

78.a

79.b

80.c

81.d

82.a

83.b

84.b

85.b

86.c
87.c

88.b

89.a

90.c

91.c

92.d

93.c

94.b

95.d

96.b

97.a

98.d

99.d

100.d

101.d

102.c

103.a

104.b

105.d

106.c

107.a

108.b

109.d

110.c

111.b

112.a

113.a

114.d

115.a
116.c

117.b

118.c

119.a

120.b

121.c

122.b

123.a

124.d

125.c

126.d

127.b
Protein Synthesis and Processing
Part B

1. Which Eukaryotic RNA Pol transcribes t-RNA?

a. RNA Pol I
b. RNA Pol II
c. RNA Pol III
d. DNA Pol I

2. Amino acid selenocysteine (Sec) is incorporated into polypeptide chain during translation by
a. Charging of Sec into tRNASer followed by incorporation through serine codon
b. Charging of serine into tRNASer followed by modification of serine into
selenocysteine and then incorporation through serine codon
c. Charging of Sec into tRNAsec and then incorporation through selenocysteine codon
d. Charging of serine into tRNAser, modification of serine into selenocysteine and then
incorporation through a specially placed stop codon

3. All cytosolic proteins have nuclear export signals that allow them to be removed from the
nucleus when it reassembles after
a. Meiosis
b. Mitosis
c. Both meiosis and mitosis
d. DNA replication

4. Presence of an internal ribozyme entry site (IRES) in mRNA

a. Inhibits its translation
b. Promotes its post-transcriptional processing
c. Has no impact on its translation
d. Promotes its translation under adverse conditions

5. A gene encoding tRNA undergoes a mutational event in its anticodon region that enables it to
recognize a mutant nonsense codon and permit completion of translation. Such a mutation is
known as
a. Silent mutation
b. Neutral mutation
c. Reversion
d. Nonsense suppressor

6. Which of the following is an example of the degeneracy of the genetic code?

a. a given amino acid has more than one codon
 b. each codon specifies more than one amino acid
c. the first two bases specify the amino acid
d. the genetic code is not degenerate

7. Proteomics
a. is another term for genomics in humans.
b. is the study of the collection of proteins produced in a particular cell.
c. is the study of proteins produced by a particular gene.
d. proves that a single gene codes for only one protein

8. Of the ____ different possible codons, ____ specify amino acids and ____ signal stop.
a. 20, 17, 3
b. 180, 20, 60
c. 64, 61, 3
d. 61, 60, 1

9. What would be the effect on the primary structure of the coded protein if a single base was
deleted from a messenger RNA transcript?
a. No effect.
b. A single amino acid residue is changed.
c. A complete change in amino acid sequence from the point of the deletion.
d. A premature termination of the chain at the point of mutation.

10. Which of the following proteins involved in peptide initiation and chain elongation is a
GTPase switch?
a. Only EF-Tu
b. Only EF-G
c. Both EF-Tu and EF-G
d. Initiation factor 2

11. Which of the following enzymes involved in ribosomal protein synthesis is a ribozyme i.e. a
catalytic RNA molecule?
a. Amino acyl t-RNA synthase
b. Peptidyl transferase
c. Releasing factors 1 and 2
d. Ribosome recycling factor

12. The major differences between the prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein synthesis
mechanisms are in which part of the process?
a. The initiation of synthesis.
b. The chain elongation process.
c. The chain termination process.
d. None - there are no major differences
13. Proteins directed to which of the following organelles are synthesized by ribosomes
attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum?
a. nucleus
b. mitochondria
c. lysosomes
d. peroxisomes

14. What directs vesicles packaged in the Golgi cisternae to their appropriate place in the cell?
a. A specific carbohydrate bound to the proteins.
b. A sequence of amino acids within the proteins.
c. Complementary SNARE proteins on the vesicle and its target organelle.
d. Coatomer or clathrin proteins coating the vesicle.

15. In what form do proteins cross the mitochondrial membranes?

a. In unfolded extended form without chaperones.
b. In unfolded extended form attached to Hsp70 chaperones.
c. Bound to an importin protein via a signal sequence
d. In fully folded form

16. How do proteins enter peroxisomes?

a. Unfolded, using an N-terminal signal sequence.
b. Folded, using an N-terminal signal sequence.
c. Unfolded, using a C-terminal or internal signal sequence.
d. Folded, using a C-terminal or internal signal sequence

17. What is the energy source for transport of molecules into and out of the nucleus?
a. ATP hydrolysis within the cytoplasm.
b. GTP hydrolysis within the cytoplasm.
c. ATP hydrolysis within the nucleus.
d. GTP hydrolysis within the nucleus.

18. The message on the codon of mRNA is read by tRNA through

a. T loop
b. All along t RNA
c. D loop
d. Anticodon loop

19. A DNA segment occurring between 2 full stop codons is called

a. Recon
b. Cistron
c. Template
d. Nucleotide

20. Which of the following base analogs or chemicals does not cause transition mutations?
 a. 2-Aminopurine (2AP)
b. 5-Bromouracil (5BU)
c. Ethidium bromide (EtBr)
d. Nitrous acid (HNO2)
e. Hydroxylamine (NH2OH)

21. Degenerate codons differ mostly in

a. the identities of their first base.
b. the identities of their second base.
c. the identities of their third base.
d. the wobble position.
e. Choices three and four are both correct.

22. The tertiary structure of yeast tRNAPhe

a. is maintained mostly by non-Watson-Crick base pairing.
b. involves extensive base stacking interactions.
c. resembles the 3-dimensional structure of other tRNAs.
d. is depicted in the cloverleaf diagram.
e. All of the choices except the fourth are correct.

23. The junction between the two helical portions of tRNA is stabilized by many non-standard
base-base interactions between residues in the
a. helical stems of the D and Anticodon stems.
b. anticodon and CCA ends.
c. loops of the Anticodon and Acceptor stem.
d. loops of the TC and D arms.
e. codon and anticodon segments.

24. The accurate charging of tRNAIle by IleRS with Ile and not Val (50,000:1)
a. requires a two-step editing process.
b. requires the binding of Ile to be 50,000-fold tighter than Val.
c. requires the hydrolysis of 2 ATPs for each Ile charged.
d. requires the presence of a small protein, fidelity-factor.
e. The first and third choices are both correct.

25. Hydrolytic editing of incorrectly charged tRNAs

a. involves attack of PPi on the aminoacyl-AMP intermediate.
b. occurs at a second active site on the synthetase.
c. is a waste of ATP, that could be used for other cellular functions.
d. is a necessary step for all of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.
e. occurs when the incorrect tRNA binds to the synthetase.

26. Most of the identity elements for correct aminoacylation of tRNAs are found
a. in the anticodon stem and the 3' CCA end.
 b. in the T Loop and the D stem and loop.
c. in the anticodon and the acceptor stem.
d. solely in the anticodon.
e. distributed throughout the structure.

27. The molecule possessing the anticodon and which carries amino acids to the site of protein
synthesis is called:
a. A transposon
b. The first-class carrier protein
c. Ribosomal RNA
d. Transfer RNA
e. Messenger RNA

28. The complete set of proteins which can be synthesized by the organism's genome is called
the:
a. Proteome
b. Genomic
c. Proteus
d. Nucleome
e. Ribosome

29. The genetic code is a triplet code, with four bases taken three at a time, giving 64
combinations, enough for 21 amino acids and then some. If it were a duplex code, how many
amino acids could be coded for?
a. 32
b. 16
c. 8
d. 4
e. 2

30. Degeneracy in the genetic code seems wasteful. Of what possible value could degeneracy
be, when it allows or requires more than one possible codon for most amino acids?
a. Degeneracy prevents mutations which might result from changing the second base of
the codon
b. In fact, all codons for a particular amino acid are the same
c. Degeneracy provides protection against some point mutations
d. Degeneracy refers to the fact that there are some codons which do not code for any
amino acid
e. Degeneracy helps to prevent aberrant behavior among teenage biochemists

31. Two of the codons which have traditionally been considered stop signals are now known to
specify placement of unusual amino acids. Which ones?
a. -alanine and -phospholysine
b. Glutamine and carboxyhistidine
 c. Asparagine and thiothreonine
d. Selenocysteine and pyrolysine
e. Hydroxyproline and hydroxytryptophan

32. What is the source of energy used by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase to power the reaction
which attaches an amino acid to its tRNA?
a. CTP
b. cAMP
c. UTP
d. ADP
e. ATP

33. The triplet group of bases which says, 'Put this amino acid here' is called a/an:
a. Codon
b. Anticodon
c. Operator
d. Promoter
e. Initiator

34. During periods of rapid protein synthesis, the mRNA moves rapidly through a group of
protein synthesizing structures called, collectively:
a. Endoplasmic reticulum
b. Golgi apparatus
c. Flagella
d. Polyribosomes
e. Nuclear pores

35. During transcription, movement of the tRNA-polypeptide from the amino acid site of the
ribosome to the peptide site requires a source of energy in the form of:
a. GTP
b. cAMP
c. UTP
d. CDP
e. TTP

36. Protein synthesis is more rapid in organisms in which mRNA has a shorter half life. Protein
synthesis in humans is much slower than that in E. coli. Why would it matter to either organism
whether protein synthesis were rapid or slow?
a. Our cells live in an environment where changes are rapid and dangerous
b. Human cells live in relatively challenging environments
c. Bacteria may need to respond rapidly to changes in their environments, so must
synthesize protein more rapidly
d. Bacteria may need to degrade RNA rapidly
e. Bacterial cells live in relatively safe, unchallenging environments
37. During protein synthesis in prokaryotes, the first amino acid placed in the chain is usually N-
formylmethionine. Speculate on a reason why plain methionine wouldn't work just as well.
a. Perhaps there is not enough non-formylated methionine available
b. N-formylmethionine prevents the 30S subunit from binding prematurely to the 50S
subunit
c. There's really nothing special about N-formylmethionine. N-acetylmethionine could
perform the same function
d. Leucine zippers prevent methionine alone from performing this function
e. N-formylmethionine placed at the beginning of the growing peptide chain may
protect the growing chain during translation

38. EF-Tu is a motor protein which positions aminoacyl-tRNA complexes in the amino acid site of
the ribosome. Its major function in translation is as:
a. A replication factor
b. An elongation factor
c. A transition factor
d. A factory worker
e. A termination factor

39. The anticodon on one tRNA which carries histidine to the site of protein synthesis is CAU.
What was the corresponding set of bases in the gene of the DNA molecule which specified
placement of histidine at that location?
a. AAA
b. GTA
c. GAU
d. CAT
e. CAU

40. What does prokaryotic mRNA have that eukaryotic mRNA doesnt?
a. ATP sequences
b. Termination factors
c. Initiation factors
d. Shine-Dalgarno sequences
e. van der Waals forces

41. How many high-energy phosphate bonds need be broken to power inclusion of a single
amino acid in a polypeptide?
a. Four
b. Three
c. Five
d. Two
e. One
42. Synthesis of both DNA and RNA start at the 5' end of the growing chain, or the 3' end of the
template. Synthesis of protein, however, starts at the 5' end of the mRNA template. Of what
value could this be to the organism?
a. This protects the growing polypeptide chain from hyperthermic denaturation
b. This happens only in prokaryotes; in an organism as complicated as eukaryotes,
protein synthesis can start at either end
c. This makes it possible for transcription to begin while replication is still occurring
d. Information can feed back from protein to modify transcription
e. Translation can begin while transcription is occurring. This gives the organism a quick
start at protein synthesis

43. Creutzfeld-Jacob syndrome, bovine spongiform encephalitis, and scrapie all seem to be
variants of disease related to inappropriate folding of proteins. It seems that some infective
proteins come into contact with normal proteins and induce the normal proteins to go wrong.
What are the protein infective agents called?
a. Hormones
b. Prions
c. Haptoglobins
d. Cytokines
e. Albumins

44. Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic which is effective against many microorganisms. It

interferes with translation by:
a. Releasing the partially-formed peptide before translation is complete
b. Hydrolyzing peptides prematurely
c. Preventing the peptidyl-tRNA from moving from the amino acid site to the peptide
site of the ribosome
d. Causing misreading of the codes on mRNA
e. Interfering with aminoacyl-tRNA binding

45. Determination of the primary structure of a peptide was once a laborious activity, requiring
weeks or months of treatment of the peptide with Sanger's reagent, hydrolysis, and paper
chromatographic analysis. The lucky graduate student can now use mass spectrometry to break
a peptide apart and accurately analyze the fragments. The mass spectrometer gives very
accurate information concerning:
a. The charge on individual particles
b. The identity of the amino acids present
c. The number of acidic and basic amino acids present in the polypeptide
d. The molecular weight of fragments of the peptide
e. The ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the peptide
46. Zymogens are inactive precursor molecules, often of extremely active digestive enzymes
which are produced in inactive form and then converted to the active enzyme by removal of a
protein 'keeper.' The type of post-translational modification involved in this case is:
a. Complete hydrolysis
b. Proteolytic cleavage
c. Methylation
d. Phosphorylation
e. Formation of disulfide bonds between cysteine residues of the same or different
chains

47. If you had taken a biochemistry course in the 1960s, you might have learned that 61 of the
64 possible codons actually coded for placement of amino acids, and that there were some
'nonsense' codons which didn"t seem to direct placement of any amino acid. Now, of course, we
know that all the codons are useful. What do those three nonsense codons actually do?
a. These three are the stop codons
b. These are extra codons which may be used in case of mutations
c. In fact, these may be nonsense codons. Their usefulness hasnt been proved
d. These three codons specify isomers of the branched chain amino acids
e. These three codons direct placement of glutamine and asparagines

48. Genetic code was deciphered by

a. Watson and Crick
b. Stahl and Meselson
c. Nirenberg and Mathei
d. Khorana

49. Degeneracy of the genetic code denotes the existence of:

a. Multiple codons for a simple amino acid
b. Base triplets that do not code for any amino acid
c. Codons consisting of only 2 bases
d. Codons which contain one or more unusual bases

50. Nonsense codons bring about

a. Initiation of protein synthesis
b. Elongation of polypeptide chain
c. Termination of protein synthesis
d. Post translational modification of proteins

51. The terminating codons in protein synthesis are

a. GGU, GGC, GGA
b. UUU, UCC, UCA
c. AUG, ACG, AAG
d. UAA, UAG, UGA
52. The codons for phenylalanine, proline, lysine and glycine respectively are
a. UUU, CCC, AAA, GGG
b. CCC, AAA, GGG, UUU
c. AAA, GGG, UUU, CCC
d. GGG, UUU, CCC, AAA

53. Peptidyl transferase is an enzyme involved in:

e. Initiation of protein synthesis
f. Elongation of polypeptide chain
g. Termination of protein synthesis
h. Post translational modification of proteins

54. All of the following are post translational modifications of proteins except:
a. Hydroxylation
b. Conjugation
c. Phosphorylation
d. Glycosylation

55. Which of the following is an inhibitor of protein synthesis?

a. Chloramphenicol
b. Actinomycin D
c. Mitamycin
d. Rifamycin

56. Which of the following inhibits protein synthesis by binding to EF-Tu?

a. Chloramphenicol
b. Tetracyclin
c. Streptomycin
d. Kirromycin

57. During protein synthesis, L-amino acid binds to t-RNA through

a. -amino group.
b. hydrophobic side chain.
c. carboxyl group.
d. carboxyl group of the side chain.

58. Which one of the following molecules is not a component of the 30 S initiation complex?
a. GTP
b. mRNA
c. Initiation factor 2
d. ATP

59. Which out of the followings is an example of post translational modification?

a. Splicing
 b. Class switching
c. Subunit aggregation
d. Base modification

60. Triple repeat sequence disease (Expansion of a CAG triplet repeat stretch) occurs in:
a. Alzheimers disease
b. Cystic fibrosis
c. Ataxia telangectasia
d. Huntingtons chorea

61. Golgi complex exports substances from a cell due to the fusion of the membrane saccule
with the cell membrane. The saccule contents flows out. This process is
a. Exocytosis
b. Facilitated diffusion
c. Endocytosis
d. Active transport
e. All answers are false

62. It is known that sequences of nucleotide triplets correspond to sequences of amino acids in
polypeptide. This characteristic of genetic code is named:
a. Collinearity
b. Triplet nature
c. No overlapping
d. Degeneracy
e. Universality

Part C

63. For continuation of protein synthesis in bacteria, ribosomes need to be released from the
mRNA as well as to dissociate into subunits. These processes do not occur spontaneously. They
need the following possible conditions:
A. RRF and EF-G aid in this process
B. An intrinsic activity of ribosomes and an uncharged tRNA are required
C. IF-1 promotes dissociation of ribosomes
D. IF-3 and IF-1 promote dissociation of ribosomes
E. Which of the following sets is correct?
a. A and D
b. A and B
c. A and C
d. B and D

64. Presence of circular mRNAs for a specific protein in a eukaryotic cell reflects a rapid rate
of synthesis of that protein. Following mechanisms are suggested:
A. eIF-4G and PABP promote this process through 5'-3' interaction of mRNA.
 B. ribosomes are less active in recognizing circular mRNA.
C. PABP and eIF-4A promote this process.
D. ribosomes can reinitiate translation without being disassembled.
Which of the following is correct?
e. A and D
f. B and D
g. A and C
h. B and C

65. Which of the following statements about antibiotic inhibitors of protein synthesis is correct?
P. Chloramphenicol inhibits peptidyl transferase activity of the large ribosomal subunit in
eukaryotes
Q. Clucloheximide inhibits the peptidyl transferase activity of the large ribosomal subunit in
eukaryotes
R. Puromycin blocks protein synthesis in prokaryotes only
S. Streptomycin inhibits protein synthesis by binding to 30 S ribosomal subunits
a. P, Q
b. Q, R
c. Q, S
d. P,Q, R, S

66. Which of the following occurs when the eukaryotic translational machinery encounters the
UAG codon?
a. The ribosome can recognize the UAG codon as a translational stop codon and does
not allow any tRNA to bind the mRNA
b. The termination factors recognize this codon and translation ends
c. This codon is recognized by the corresponding anti-codon of an empty tRNA molecule
that is not linked to an amino acid
d. The non-recognition of this codon by tRNA ultimately causes the translational
machinery to stop

67. During the synthesis of secretory proteins the following event happens
1. The Signal Recognition Particle (SRP) binds to the signal sequence
2. The 2 parts of the cytosolic ribosome binds to the mRNA
3. Protein synthesis stops
4. The signal sequence is translated
5. The ribosome and protein are transferred to a translocon
6. The secretory protein folds
7. The signal sequence is cleaved by a signal peptidase
8. The SRP binds to its receptor in the Endoplasmic Reticulum membrane
The correct order for these events is
a. 4, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 7, 5
b. 2, 4, 1, 3, 8, 5, 7, 6
c. 1, 4, 2, 3, 6, 5, 8, 7
 d. 2, 4, 1, 3, 5, 8, 7, 6

68. An mRNA coding for a secretory protein, when translated using free ribosome under in vitro
conditions, resulted in a 40 KDa protein. The same mRNA when translated using the rough
endoplasmic reticulum resulted in a 36 KDa protein. The difference in the molecular weight of
the 2 polypeptides is due to the loss of a
a. 2 KDa peptide from Amino terminus (N) and a 2 KDa peptide from Carboxyl terminus
(C)
b. 1 KDa peptide from Amino terminus (N) and a 3 KDa peptide from Carboxyl terminus
(C)
c. 4 KDa peptide from N terminus
d. 4 KDa peptide from C terminus

69. Which of the following statements about chain termination in peptide synthesis is true?
a. The formation of peptide bonds by the ribosomal mRNA complex continues until a
stop codon on mRNA is reached
b. The formation of peptide bonds by the ribosomal mRNA complex continues until a
tRNA with an anti-codon for UAA, UAG or UGA interacts with the A site on ribosome
c. Peptide bond formation ceases when the ribososme reaches the 5 end of the mRNA
d. In prokaryotes, peptide bond formation ceases when a formyl methionine tRNA
interacts with the A site on the ribosome

70. The polypeptide chain initiation in a prokaryotic cell always begins with the amino acid
formyl-methionine because
I. No peptide bond formation takes place at amino end of methionine as it is formylated
II. Formyl-methionine is available in abundance in bacteria
III. Formyl-methionine can help chain elongation
Out of the above statements:
a. I is correct
b. I and II are correct
c. I and III are correct
d. II and III are correct

71. Stopping mRNA from being continuously translated into protein is an important mechanism
when enough protein product is available. How is this accomplished?
a. Transcribe antisense RNA from ordinarily inactive DNA; this will bind with sense
mRNA and prevent the ribosome from further translating it.
b. Regulator genes produce repressor proteins that physically bind to mRNA and stop its
activity in ribosomes.
c. mRNA contains stop units encoded in its sequence so only a limited number of passes
can be made through ribosomes.
d. The protein products of mRNA translation are feedback repressors that limit
translation.
e. Other genes turn on to produce enzymes that digest the mRNA.
72. Proteins may be separated by a number of techniques, including isoelectric focusing. In
isoelectric focusing, an artificial pH gradient is used in an electrophoresis chamber, and proteins
mixed in the gradient migrate to the regions of their isoelectric points and then stop. Suppose
that you set up a gel containing a mixture of acidic and basic substances ranging in pH from 3 to
10, and that you added a mixture of proteins and allowed them to move to the regions where
they stopped migrating (their isoelectric pH, or pI). If you sliced the gel and found the protein
you were purifying was present in a slice having a pH of 4, you could be pretty confident that
this protein:
a. Contained more acidic amino acids than basic amino acids
b. Contained more basic amino acids than acidic amino acids
c. Contained no basic amino acids
d. Contained no acidic amino acids
e. Contained an equal number of acidic and basic amino acids

73. Protein synthesis begins from transcription. Prednisolone and Hydrocortisone which
increase transcription and protein synthesis were prescribed for patient. What changes will be in
the cell cytoplasm, in case of increasing the amount of functioning of euchromatin:
a. Decreasing of ribosome and polysome
b. Increasing of ribosome and polysome of endoplasmic reticulum
c. Increasing of ribosome and polysome of cytoplasm
d. Decreasing of ribosome only
e. Decreasing of polysome only

74. Match the following:

1. SRP A. Assist in protein folding
2. KDEL sequence B. Brings proteins and the ribsomes that
are translating
them from the cytosol to the rough ER
3. Chaperones C. Help configure ribosome and mRNA to
start translation
4. eIFs D. Targets proteins emerging from the
golgi apparatus to
rough ER
a. 1D; 2B; 3A; 4C
b. 1B; 2D; 3A; 4C
c. 1C; 2B; 3A; 4D
d. 1C; 2D; 3A; 4B
 75. Order the following events in eukaryotic gene expression:
I. Binding of the 40S subunit
II. Creation of a 2-5 phosphodiester bond
III. Exporting RNA from the nucleus
IV. Binding of DNA Polymerase to the template strand
a. IV, I, II, III
b. IV, II, III, I
c. I, IV, II, III
d. IV, II, I, III
e. None of the above
Answer key

1. c

2. d

3. c

4. d

5. d

6. b

7. b

8. c

9. c

10. c

11. b

12. a

13. c

14. c

15. a

16. d

17. b

18. d

19. b

20. c

21. e

22. e

23. d

24. a

25. b

26. c

27. d

28. a
29. b

30. c

31. d

32. e

33. a

34. d

35. a

36. c

37. e

38. b

39. d

40. d

41. a

42. e

43. b

44. c

45. d

46. b

47. a

48. c

49. a

50. c

51. d

52. a

53. b

54. b

55. a

56. d

57. c
58. d

59. c

60. d

61. a

62. a

63. a

64. a

65. c

66. b

67. b

68. c

69. a

70. a

71. d

72. a

73. a

74. b

75. e
 Gene Regulation
Part B

1. Histone H3-Lys 14 acetylation is generally expected to lead to

a. Histone disassembly on the promoter
b. Transcriptional activation of the gene
c. Gene silencing
d. Genomic imprinting

2. In gene regulation, Open Reading Frame (ORF) implies

a. Intervening nucleotide sequence in between two genes
b. A series of triplet codons not interrupted by stop codon
c. A series of triplet codons that begins with a start codon and ends with a stop codon
d. The exonic sequence of a gene that corresponds to the 5 UTR of the mRNA and thus does not
code for the protein

3. Which of the following maternal effect gene products regulate production of anterior structures
in Drosophila embryo?
a. Bicoid and Nanos
b. Bicoid and Hunchback
c. Bicoid and Caudal
d. Nanos and Caudal

4. A culture of an E. coli strain that is lysogenic for phage lambda is grown at 32C. Induction of the
prophage from the host chromosome will occur when the culture is exposed to
a. 40C.
b. ultra violet radiation.
c. infra red radiation.
d. wild type E. coli culture

5. 'RNAi' stands for which of the following?

a. RNA intron
b. RNA interference
c. RNA insertion
d. RNA inducer

6. Andrew Fire and Craig Mello won a Nobel Prize in 2006 for their work, begun in the late 1990s,
on RNA interference. Which of the following organisms did they work on?
a. E. coli
b. Fruit flies
c. Roundworms
d. Plants

7. The effectors of gene silencing are short double-stranded RNA molecules produced by the
action of the enzyme dicer. Approximately what size are these molecules?
a. 11 bp
b. 22 bp
c. 75 bp
d. 100 bp

8. Which of the following statements is True about histones?

a. Histone proteins have a strong negative charge just like DNA has.
b. Nucleosomes consist of DNA wrapped around octomers of four different histone protein dimers.
c. Histones are not utilized in eukaryotes.
d. Nucleosomes do not contain protein.

9. The resistance of lysogenic E. coli to reinfect by another phage is mediated by

a. Blocking entry of the incoming DNA
b. Degrading the incoming DNA
c. Blocking transcription of the incoming DNA
d. Triggering mutation of the receptor of the host

10. Histones have very high percent of lysine and arginine residues. For this class of proteins which
of the following reagents would be a suitable choice for generating peptides in the
determination of amino acid sequence of the proteins?
a. Cyanogen bromide
b. Thermolysin
c. Trypsin
d. N-bromosuccinamide

11. Which of the following is likely to be expressed?

a. heterochromatin
b. DNA without methyl groups
c. DNA with many methyl groups
d. euchromatin and DNA without methyl groups is more likely to be expressed

12. Which of the following is a method of posttranscriptional control?

a. the life span of a mRNA molecule
b. differential processing of mRNA
c. how fast the mRNA leaves the nucleus
d. both differential processing and how fast mRNA leaves the nucleus are involved in
posttranscriptional control.

13. Which gene in an operon is incorrectly matched with its function?

a. promoter--where RNA polymerase first binds to DNA
b. regulator--binds to the repressor protein
c. structural--makes mRNA by transcription
d. operator--if unbound, allows RNA polymerase to bind to DNAE. All of these are correctly matched

14. Which statement is NOT correct about the lac operon?

a. It regulates the production of a series of five enzymes.
b. It is normally turned off if glucose is present.
c. Lactose binds to the repressor protein and inactivates it.
d. It is an inducible system.

15. Which statement is NOT correct about the trp operon?

a. The structural genes make products that act in a metabolic pathway to produce tryptophan.
b. It is normally turned off if tryptophan is present.
c. Tryptophan acts as the corepressor.
d. Tryptophan binds to the repressor protein and inactivates it.

16. Which statement is NOT true about genetic control in prokaryotes?

a. RNA polymerase must bind to a promoter on the DNA to begin RNA synthesis.
b. Most gene expression is regulated at the level of translation.
c. An active repressor protein keeps RNA polymerase from binding to DNA.
d. Structural genes produce enzymes that act in a metabolic pathway.

17. The first level of primary control in eukaryotic gene activity is _______ control.
a. feedback
b. translational
c. transcriptional
d. posttranscriptional

18. Which level of primary control in eukaryotic gene activity involves the life span of the mRNA
molecule and the ability of the mRNA to bind to ribosomes?
a. feedback control
b. translational control
c. transcriptional control
d. posttranscriptional control

19. Which level of primary control in eukaryotic gene activity involves processing early RNA
transcripts to mRNA and control of the rate at which mRNA leaves the nucleus?
a. feedback control
b. translational control
c. transcriptional control
d. posttranscriptional control

20. Which level of primary control in eukaryotic gene activity involves changes in the polypeptide
chain before it becomes functional?
a. feedback control
b. translational control
c. posttranscriptional control
d. posttranslational control

21. A form of active chromatin might also be referred to as

a. a Barr body.
b. heterochromatin.
c. a chromosome.
d. euchromatin.

22. An enhancer site is

a. part of an operon.
b. found only in prokaryotes.
c. located at a distance from the gene it affects.
d. an attachment site for RNA polymerase.

23. A form of gene regulation that occurs while RNA is still in the nucleus is
a. differential intron removal and splicing.
b. feedback control.
c. binding of the repressor protein to DNA.
d. enzymatic cleavage of a polypeptide.

24. Barr body

a. is only found in female cells.
b. is due to an inactivated X chromosome.
c. is in the heterochromatin form
d. All of the choices are correct

(common diagram)

25. The portion of the DNA labeled b represents the

a. promoter site
b. operator site
c. regulator gene
d. repressor protein

26. The portion of the DNA labeled d represents the

a. promoter site
b. operator site
c. regulator gene
d. repressor protein

27. The repressor is labeled

a. a
b. c
c. d
d. e

28. If this is the try operon, tryptophan would bind to

a. a
b. c
c. d
d. e

29. RNA polymersase would bind to which location?

a. a
b. c
c. d
d. e

30. Unlike prokaryotes, the control of transcription by eukaryotes is designed to react to change by
a. changing
b. ignoring change
c. remaining constant
d. changing the environment

31. A form of binding motif containing a nearly identical sequence of 60 amino acids in many
eukaryotes is the
a. homeodomain motif
b. zinc finger motif
c. leucine zipper motif
d. universal motif

32. Which of the following does not occur in the function of the catabolite activator protein (CAP) of
E. coli?
a. Cyclic-AMP binds to the CAP protein.
b. The protein changes shape.
c. Space is increased by the binding of tryptophan.
d. Helix-turn-helix motifs are enabled to bind to the DNA.

33. Which of the following statements correctly describes promoters in E. coli?

a. A promoter may be present on either side of a gene or in the middle of it.
b. All promoters have the same sequence that is recognized by RNA polymerase holoenzyme.
c. Every promoter has a different sequence, with little or no resemblance to other promoters.
d. Many promoters are similar and resemble a consensus sequence, which has the highest affinity
for RNA polymerase holoenzyme.

34. The operator region normally can be bound by:

a. attenuator.
b. inducer.
c. mRNA.
d. repressor.

35. Small signal molecules that regulate transcription are not known to:
a. cause activator proteins to bind DNA sites.
b. cause repressor proteins to bind DNA sites.
c. directly bind to DNA sites.
d. prevent activator proteins from binding to DNA sites.
 36. Transcription of the lactose operon in E. coli is stimulated by:
a. a mutation in the repressor gene that strengthens the affinity of the repressor for the operator.
b. a mutation in the repressor gene that weakens the affinity of the repressor for the operator.
c. a mutation in the repressor gene that weakens the affinity of the repressor for the inducer.
d. binding of the repressor to the operator.

37. Protein amino acid side chains can hydrogen bond in the major groove of DNA, and discriminate
between each of the four possible base pairs. In which one of the following groups of amino
acids can all three members potentially be used in such DNA-protein recognition?
a. Ala, Asn, Glu
b. Arg, Gln, Leu
c. Asn, Gln, Trp
d. Asn, Glu, Lys

38. The DNA binding motif for many prokaryotic regulatory proteins, such as the lac repressor, is:
a. helix-turn-helix.
b. homeobox.
c. homeodomain.
d. leucine zipper.

39. Protein structural motifs often have general functions in common. Which one of the following
motifs is known to be involved in protein dimer formation, but not in direct protein-DNA
interactions?
a. -barrel
b. helix-turn-helix
c. homeodomain
d. leucine zipper

40. Which of the following statements about regulation of the lac operon is true?
a. Glucose in the growth medium decreases the inducibility by lactose.
b. Glucose in the growth medium does not affect the inducibility by lactose.
c. Glucose in the growth medium increases the inducibility by lactose.
d. Its expression is regulated mainly at the level of translation.

41. The binding of CRP (cAMP receptor protein of E. coli) to DNA in the lac operon:
a. assists RNA polymerase binding to the lac promoter.
b. is inhibited by a high level of cAMP.
c. occurs in the lac repressor region.
d. occurs only when glucose is present in the growth medium.

42. Consider the lac operon of E. coli. When there is neither glucose nor lactose in the growth
medium:
a. CRP protein binds to the lac operator.
b. CRP protein displaces the Lac repressor from the lac promoter.
c. repressor is bound to the lac operator.
d. RNA polymerase binds lac promoter and transcribes the lac operon.

43. A regulon is a(n):

a. group of related triplet codons.
b. network of operons with a common regulator.
c. operon that is subject to regulation.
d. protein that regulates gene expression.

44. The tryptophan operon of E. coli is repressed by tryptophan added to the growth medium. The
tryptophan repressor probably:
a. binds to RNA polymerase when tryptophan is present.
b. binds to the trp operator in the absence of tryptophan.
c. binds to the trp operator in the presence of tryptophan.
d. is a DNA sequence.

45. Which one of the following statements about the transcription attenuation mechanism is true?
a. In some operons (e.g., the his operon), attenuation may be the only regulatory mechanism.
b. Sequences of the trp operon leader RNA resemble an operator.
c. The leader peptide acts by a mechanism that is similar to that of a repressor protein.
d. The leader peptide gene of the trp operon includes no Trp codons.

46. Which of the following statements is true of the attenuation mechanism used to regulate the
tryptophan biosynthetic operon in E. coli?
a. Attenuation is the only mechanism used to regulate the trp operon.
b. One of the enzymes in the Trp biosynthetic pathway binds to the mRNA and blocks translation
when tryptophan levels are high.
c. The leader peptide plays a direct role in causing RNA polymerase to attenuate transcription.
d. Trp codons in the leader peptide gene allow the system to respond to tryptophan levels in the
cell.

47. Attenuation in the trp operon of E. coli:

a. can adjust transcription of the structural genes upwards when tryptophan is present.
b. can fine-tune the transcription of the operon in response to small changes in Trp availability.
c. is a mechanism for inhibiting translation of existing (complete) trp mRNAs.
d. results from the binding of the Trp repressor to the operator.

48. RecA protein provides the functional link between DNA damage and the SOS response by
displacing the LexA protein from its operator sites on the SOS genes. RecA does so by:
a. associating with polymerase holoenzyme to help it remove LexA from operator.
b. bending LexA operator DNA to force dissociation of LexA repressor.
c. binding to LexA protein to weaken directly its affinity for operator sites.
d. causing self-cleavage of LexA, thus inactivating its binding to operator.

49. Which one of the following statements about eukaryotic gene regulation is correct?
a. Large polycistronic transcripts are common.
b. Most regulation is positive, involving activators rather than repressors.
c. Transcription and translation are mechanistically coupled.
d. Transcription does not involve promoters.

50. Which of the following is a DNA sequence?

a. Coactivator
b. Corepressor
c. Enhancer
d. Inducer

51. Which one of the following types of eukaryotic regulatory proteins interact with enhancers?
a. Basal transcription factors
b. Coactivators
c. TATA-binding proteins
d. Transactivators

52. Which one of the following is not involved in steroid hormone action?
a. Cell surface receptors
b. Hormone-receptor complexes
c. Specific DNA sequences
d. Transcription activation and repression

53. Which one of the following classes is expressed in the unfertilized egg and is involved in
directing the spatial organization of the Drosophila embryo early in development?
a. Gap genes
b. Homeotic genes
c. Maternal genes
d. Segment polarity genes

54. Which one of the following classes of genes is involved in specifying the localization of organs in
the Drosophila embryo?
a. Gap genes
b. Homeotic genes
c. Maternal genes
d. Segment polarity genes

55. In the development of the fly Drosophila, homeotic genes:

a. are transcribed during egg production; their mRNAs lie dormant in the egg until it is fertilized.
b. determine the number of body segments that will form.
c. are expressed late and determine the detailed structure of each body segment.
d. generally have no introns.

56. Nucleosomes inhibit

a. Activators
b. RNA Polymerase
c. Translation
d. Assembly of transcription factors

57. When tryptophan is present in the medium, the transcription of tryptophan producing genes in
E. coli is stopped by a helix-turn-helix regulator binding to the
a. Trp repressor
b. Trp operon
c. Trp promoter
d. Trp operator
 58. When a homeodomain binds to DNA, the actual binding portion of the homeodomain is
a. A leucine zipper
b. Zinc fingers
c. The histidine
d. A helix-turn-helix

59. The assembly of transcription factors on a promoter begins some 25 nucleotides upstream
where it binds to a start _______ sequence.
a. ATAT
b. AATT
c. TTAA
d. TATA

60. The assembly of transcription factors on a promoter begins some 25 nucleotides upstream
where it binds to a start _______________ sequence.
a. Trp operon
b. Trp promoter
c. Trp repressor
d. Trp polymerase

61. Transcription factors appear to be unable to bind to a nucleosome because

a. activators are inhibited by the configuration
b. of inhibition of RNA polymerase
c. of histones positioned over promoters
d. nucleosomes are especially vulnerable to repressors

62. In the zinc fingers motif, the spacing of the helical segments is performed by
a. beta sheets
b. helical clusters
c. zinc atoms
d. gamma helices

63. Translation repressor proteins may shut down translation of processed mRNA transcripts by
a. binding with the poly-A tail
b. resetting the reading frame
c. excising a short sequence of nucleotides
d. excising a short sequence of nucleotides

64. In many animals, the genes that regulate the development of stem cells are activated
a. Once
b. Only twice
c. Up to 10 times
d. Over a hundred times

65. In order for a gene to be transcribed, RNA polymerase must have access to the DNA helix and be
able to bind to the genes
a. Activator
b. Regulator
c. Promoter
d. Operator

66. In the function of the lac operon in E. coli, the lac genes are transcribed in the presence of
lactose because
a. RNA polymerase binds to the operator
b. the repressor cannot bind to the promoter
c. an isomer of lactose binds to the repressor
d. CAP does not bind to the operator

67. The role of methylation of DNA is now viewed as

a. interfering with DNA transcription by blocking base pairing between cytosine and guanine
b. complexing with enhancers to prevent transcription
c. insuring that genes that are turned off, stay off
d. irrelevant to gene transcription

68. The most common form of gene expression regulation in both bacteria and eukaryotes is
a. Translational control
b. Transcriptional control
c. Post-transcriptional control
d. Post-translational control

69. In eukaryotes, many genes may have to interact with each other, requiring more interacting
elements than can fit around a single promoter. This physical limitation is overcome by
a. alternating promoters and operators
b. placing promoters on both sides of each gene
c. distant sites in a chromosome controlling transcription of a gene
d. having factors on one chromosome control genes on another gene

70. Which of the following are not matched correctly?

a. exon splicing-occurs in nucleus
b. post-translational modifications-phosphorylation
c. snRNA-splice out exons from transcript
d. activated enhancers-trigger transcription

71. Regulation of gene expression can be accomplished by controlling:

a. the activity of a protein product.
b. the amount of mRNA that is available.
c. the rate of mRNA degradation.
d. All of these.

72. Enzymes that are found in cells at essentially the same level in cells under all growth conditions
are called _____________ enzymes
a. Primary
b. Constitutive
c. Chemostatic
d. Irrepressible
 73. During allosteric, or feed back, inhibition
a. transcription of mRNA specific for the enzymes involved in the pathway is repressed by the
pathway's end product
b. the pathway's end product represses the activity of the first enzyme in the pathway
c. all of the above apply to feedback inhibition
d. more than one of the above, but not all, apply to feedback inhibition

74. During enzyme repression

a. the pathway's end product represses the activity of the first enzyme in the pathway.
b. transcription of mRNA specific for the enzymes involved in the pathway is repressed by the
pathway's end product.
c. enzyme concentrations in the cell remain relatively constant.
d. more than one of the above, but not all, apply to feedback inhibition.

75. Once a protein combines with DNA at a specific site

a. transcription may be activated
b. transcription may be blocked
c. RNA polymerase may bind more efficiently
d. all of the above may result

76. In Escherichia coli,, which effect in a cell is the result of a regulon?

a. The enzymes required for maltose utilization are synthesized in the cell only when maltose is
present in the medium
b. The enzymes for utilization of lactose are made only when lactose is present in the medium
c. During synthesis of the enzymes required for tryptophan utilization, transcription of the trp
operon may begin, but transcription is terminated before the structural genes are transcribed
d. All of the above.

77. In Escherichia coli, which effect in a cell is the result of attenuation?

a. The enzymes for utilization of lactose are made only when lactose is present in the medium.
b. The enzymes required for maltose utilization are synthesized in the cell only when maltose is
present in the medium.
c. During synthesis of the enzymes required for tryptophan utilization, transcription of the trp
operon may begin, but transcription is terminated before the structural genes are transcribed.
d. All of the above

78. In Escherichia coli, which effect in a cell is the result of enzyme repression?
a. The enzymes required for maltose utilization are synthesized in the cell only when maltose is
present in the medium
b. During synthesis of the enzymes required for tryptophan utilization, transcription of the trp
operon may begin, but transcription is terminated before the structural genes are transcribed
c. The enzymes for utilization of lactose are made only when lactose is present in the medium
d. All of the above

79. When E. coli is grown in a medium that contains both glucose and lactose, the glucose will be
used first. Often, as the glucose becomes exhausted in the medium, there will be a pause in
 growth before lactose utilization begins. This phenomenon results in a/an _________ growth
curve
a. Diauxic
b. Dimorphic
c. One-step
d. Synchronous

80. When E. coli is grown in a medium that contains both glucose and lactose, the glucose will be
used first. This phenomenon is called
a. The lactose effect
b. The glucose effect
c. All of the above
d. More than one of the above, but not all

81. In E. coli, -galactosidase is not made unless

a. glucose is absent, or is present at very low levels, in the medium
b. cyclic AMP is present in the cell at elevated levels
c. lactose is present in the medium
d. All of the above

82. Which of the following terms refers to a system in which gene expression is not induced unless
the cell density reaches a sufficiently high level?
a. Gene induction
b. Feedback regulation
c. Attenuation
d. Quorum sensing

83. Two-component regulatory systems involve

a. a specific sensor protein that is a DNA binding protein
b. a specific sensor protein that is membrane bound
c. a specific regulator protein that has kinase activity
d. All of the above

84. Which of the following would be considered a global regulation system?

a. The response of a cell to heat shock
b. -galactosidase is produced only when lactose is present in the medium
c. A cell only produces tryptophan when the amino acid is not present in the medium
d. All of the above

85. Which of the following is NOT a feature of eukaryotic gene expression?

a. polycistronic mRNAs are very rare
b. many genes are interrupted by noncoding DNA sequences
c. RNA synthesis and protein synthesis are coupled as in prokaryotes
d. mRNA is often extensively modified before translation

86. Operon concept was proposed by

a. Jacob and Monod
b. Watson and Crick
c. Kornberg
d. Nirenberg

87. Which of the following involve negative control of transcription through a repressor protein:
a. enzyme repression
b. enzyme induction
c. transcriptional activator
d. alternative sigma factor
e. a and b

88. Control of expression of heat shock genes involves :

a. an alternative sigma factor
b. a helix-turn-helix DNA binding protein
c. the response regulator of a two component regulator system

89. In which medium would the level of an enzyme of arginine biosynthesis be the lowest:
a. glucose+salts
b. lactose +salts
c. glucose +salts +tryptophan
d. arginine+salts

90. Induction is:

a. A process in which there is increase in the product of gene expression in response to a molecular
signals.
b. The gene which becomes more active in response to a signal .
c. The effect that occurs on constitutive genes to increase the concentration of their products.
d. The decreased gene product in response to a signal

91. All the following as regard gene expression is correct except

a. It is synthesis of protein under influence of gene
b. It includes RNA transcription and protein synthesis
c. Its types are constitutive and regulated gene expression
d. DNA replication is the first step in gene expression

92. Number of gene segments encoding the heavy chain of antibodies are
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

93. Number of gene families responsible for immunogloblin expression

a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

94. Regulation of gene expression, as in production of different specificities of antibodies is an

example of
a. gene rearrangement
b. Alteration in RNA processing
c. Transcriptional regulation
d. RNA editing

95. The gene for heavy chain of immunoglobulins in human is located in chromosome number
a. 12
b. 14
c. 18
d. 16

96. The gene for heavy chain of immunoglobulins in mouse is located in chromosome number
a. 12
b. 14
c. 18
d. 16

97. The gene of immunoglobulins is expressed in

a. B-lymphocytes
b. liver cells
c. brain cells
d. muscle cells

98. For gene rearrangement all the following statements are correct except
a. segments of DNA move from one location to another in the genome so that different proteins are
produced
b. different antibodies are examples of different products of the same gene as a result of gene
rearrangement
c. the different segments are present on the same strand of DNA
d. It can result in production of an antibody containing 3 variable regions and one constant region

99. The gene consists of

a. proximal element and upstream element
b. proximal element and enhancers
c. coding region and regulatory regions
d. Enhancers and silencers

100. The coding region

a. contains DNA sequence that is transcribed into mRNA
b. Contain TATA box
c. Is considered trans-factor
d. Interact with proteins to decrease the rate of expression

101. The proximal element has the following characteristics except

a. contains CAAT box
b. It directs RNA polymerase to the start site
c. It is considered a part of the gene
d. It is present upstream to the start site
 102. Cis-acting elements are showing these characters except
a. They may be separated thousands of base pairs from the promoter
b. They are responsible for regulation of expression
c. They are DNA elements present on the same gene
d. They are transcribed into m-RNA

103. All the following are examples of regulated expression elements except
a. Hormone response element
b. Upstream element
c. enhancers
d. silencer

104. Enhancers show the following except

a. They are cis-elements
b. They increase the rate of transcription
c. They interact with proteins to produce their effect
d. They mediate response to signals such as chemicals

105. Transcriptional regulation occurs through

a. DNA regulatory regions
b. enzymes that degrades DNA
c. Processing of RNA
d. Gene rearrangement

106. Processing of the primary transcript involves all the following except
a. RNA splicing
b. addition of a cap
c. addition of a poly (A)
d. Removal of poly (G)

107. Different proteins can be produced from the same gene by

a. gene rearrangement
b. alternative splicing
c. RNA editing
d. All of the above

108. The gene which is an example for regulation by alternative splicing is

a. gene for heavy chain of immunoglobulins
b. gene for apo-B
c. Gene for calcitonin
d. All of the above

109. RNA editing is

a. change of few nucleotides in RNA in the nucleus
b. Adding 5 methyl guanosine to the to the end of RNA during synthesis
c. removal of introns from the primary transcript
d. Change in a single nucleotide in the RNA transcript
 110. Apo-B gene expression exhibits all the following except
a. It produce apo B-100 in the liver and apo B -48 in the intestine
b. The sequence of the codon 2153 is CAA in the liver, and codes for glutamate
c. The sequence of codon 2153 is UAA in the intestine, and it is a stop codon
d. It is regulated by alternative splicing

111. Regulation at the level of translation affects

a. Initiation
b. Elongation
c. Termination
d. none of the above

112. Phosphorylation of eIF- 2 causes

a. Repression of gene expression
b. Induction of gene expression
c. Activation of aminoacyl - tRNA synthetase
d. Inhibition of aminoacyl- tRNA synthetase

113. Some proteins are marked by ubiquitin to

a. undergo degradation
b. protect it from degradation
c. facilitate its phosphorylation
d. Both b and c

114. Regulation of gene expression can occur at the level of

a. Transcription
b. Translation
c. Post transcription
d. All of the above

115. Which of the following statements about histones is not true?

a. Histones are very similar between species.
b. Histones have many basic amino acids.
c. Histones are rich in lysine and arginine.
d. Each histone has one single gene that codes for it.

116. In mammalian cells, the DNA of the centromere is characteristic of:

a. facultative heterochromatin.
b. constitutive heterochromatin.
c. Euchromatin.
d. dispersed chromatin.

117. Why are adult women genetic mosaics?

a. Inactivated X chromosomes are all derived from the male parent.
b. Inactivated X chromosomes are all derived from the female parent.
c. Inactivated X chromosomes can be from either the male or the female parent.
d. None of these are correct.
 118. If there were a mutation in the regulatory gene of an inducible promoter rendering the
protein incapable of binding to the repressor, then:
a. the structural genes would always be expressed.
b. the structural genes would never be expressed.
c. the structural genes would only be expressed in the presence of the inducer.
d. the structural genes would only be expressed in the absence of the inducer.

119. Which of the following is a difference between inducible versus repressible operons?
a. In an inducible operon, the inducer binds to the regulator protein.
b. In a repressible operon, the corepressor-regulator complex binds to the operator.
c. In a repressible operon, all the structural gene products have related functions.
d. In an inducible operon, RNA polymerase binds to the promoter.

120. Which of the following would lead to a dorsalized embryo?

a. dorsal mutant
b. cactus mutant
c. toll mutant
d. sptzle mutant
e. bicoid mutant

121. The portion of the Drosophila body plan which will produce the wing is called:
a. telson
b. dorsal
c. abdomen
d. thorax
e. neurectoderm

122. Which of the following, first discovered through mutagenesis studies in Drosophila,also
function in the development of mammals like ourselves?
a. hedgehog
b. homeobox genes
c. the Wnt family
d. the Toll signaling pathway
e. all of the above

123. Which of the following is false about the E. coli Lac operon?
a. It is polycistronic
b. It is an example of negative control
c. The presence of lactose acts as an inducer
d. The repressor binds to the promoter

124. Which of the following events would occur at the E. coli lac operon when the glucose
concentration of the growth medium is low and the lactose concentration is high?
a. The lac repressor protein will bind to the operator sequence.
b. Ribosomes will stall during translation of the first 13 amino acids.
c. The transcribed RNA will form a cAMP-dependent stem-loop structure to terminate transcription.
d. The catabolite gene activator protein (CAP), bound with cAMP, will stimulate binding of RNA
polymerase to the promoter.

125. DNA methylation is associated with:

a. CpG islands
b. CAAT box
c. TATA box
d. increasing gene transcription

Part C

126. Bacteriophage has two modes in its life cycle, lytic and lysogenic. In the lysogenic mode, the
expression of all phage genes is repressed while expression of repressor gene switches between
on and off position depending upon concentration of the repressor. The following statements are
made:
A. Repressor may act both as positive regulator and a negative regulator
B. Expression of repressor gene, cI is independent of the expression of cII and cIII genes
C. Mutations of cI gene will cause it to form clear plaques on both wild type E. coli and E. coli (+)
D. Mutation at operators, OL and OR will allow the phage to act as a virulent phage.
The correct statements are
a. A and B
b. B and C
c. C and D
d. D and A

127. The lac operon in E. coli is controlled by both the lac repressor and the catabolite
activation protein CAP. In an invivo experiment with lac operon, the following observation were
made
A. cAMP levels are high
B. B Repressor is bound by allolactose
C. CAP is interacting with RNA Polymerase
Which of the following conclusions is most appropriate based on the above observations?
a. Glucose and lactose are present
b. Glucose is present and lactose is absent
c. Both are absent
d. Glucose is absent and lactose is present

128. Why lysogenic cycle is more beneficial to a virus than lytic cycle under certain
circumstances?
a. The lysogenic cycle prevents local extinction of the host while still retaining its infection potential
b. By integrating with the bacterial chromosomes, the genetic instructions for the virus become
refreshed after one or more replication events during binary fission
c. Lysogenic infection cycles donot harm their host cells, so they can produce virus particles
indefinitely
d. Lysogeny causes more mutations to occur in the virus, creating more variants upon which natural
selection can operate.
129. Lac repressor inhibits expression of genes in lac-operon whereas purine biosynthesis is
repressed by the Pur repressor. The two proteins have 31% identical sequences and have
similar three-dimensional structures. The gene regulatory properties of these proteins differ in
relation to
1) binding of small molecules to the repressor.
2) presence of recognition sites on the genome.
3) oligomeric nature of the repressor.
4) DNA binding property.
The correct statements are
a. A and B
b. A, B and C
c. A and C
d. B, C and D

130. Two E. coli cultures A and B are taken. Culture A was earlier grown in the presence of
optimum concentration of gratuitous inducer IPTG. Both the cultures are now used to inoculate
fresh medium containing sub-optimal concentration of gratuitous inducer. It was observed that
culture B was unable to utilize lactose, whereas culture A did so efficiently. The reason behind
this is
a. Pretreatment with IPTG has resulted in a mutation as a result of which lac operon is
constitutively expressed
b. IPTG has made the cell membrane more porous to small molecules and so lactose is taken up
more efficiently by A as compared to B.
c. In culture A, lactose permease was induced to a high level, during pretreatment with IPTG,
which allowed the preferential uptake of lactose.
d. In culture A, IPTG activated a receptor which bound lactose more efficiently, thereby triggering a
signal.

131. It has been observed that in 5-10% of the eukaryotic mRNAs with multiple AUGs, the
first AUG is not the initiation site. In such cases, the ribosome skips over one or more AUGs
before encountering the favorable one and initiating translation. This is postulated to be due to
the presence of the following consensus sequence (s):
1) CCA CC AUG G
2) CCG CC AUG G
3) CCG CC AUG C
4) AAC GG AUG A
Which of the following sequence sets related to the above postulations is correct?
a. A and B
b. A and C
c. C and D
d. B and D

132. Presence of circular mRNAs for a specific protein in a eukaryotic cell reflects a rapid rate
of synthesis of that protein. Following mechanisms are suggested:
A. eIF-4G and PABP promote this process through 5'-3' interaction of mRNA.
B. ribosomes are less active in recognizing circular mRNA.
C. PABP and eIF-4A promote this process.
D. ribosomes can reinitiate translation without being disassembled.
 Which of the following is correct?
a. A and D
b. B and D
c. A and C
d. B and C

133. In eukaryotic chromatin, 30 nm fiber (solenoid) can open up to give rise to two kinds of
chromatin. In one type (A), the promoter of a gene within the open chromatin is occupied by a
nucleosome whereas in the other (B), the promoter is occupied by histone H1. The following
possibilities are suggested.
A. The gene in (A) is repressed.
B. The gene in (B) is repressed.
C. The gene in (A) is active.
D. The gene in (B) is active.
Which of the following sets is correct?
a. A and D
b. A and B
c. B and D
d. C and D

134. cAMP signalling plays a very important role in the development and differentiation of
Dictyostelium discoideum. This morphogen' is synthesized by different adenyl cyclases
expressed at different stages of its life cycle. The following statements (A to D) refer to the
effect of mutations in different adenyl cyclase genes:
A) aca deficient cells can be allowed to aggregate by exposing them to
pulses of cAMP.
B) acb deficient cells would form normal fruiting bodies and the spores can
germinate when exposed to favourable conditions.
C) acg deficient cells develop normally and the spores germinate in the
spore head itself.
D) spores formed from the acg deficient cells will germinate irrespective of
the osmotic conditions.
Which of the above statements are correct?
a. A and D
b. A only
c. A and B
d. C and D

135. In cells that have not been previously exposed to lactose, how does lactose enter the
cells to induce lac operon?
a. IPTG would induce the expression instead of lactose
b. Lactose would enter by diffusion across the membrane without the need for permease
c. Some other transport protein facilitates the entry of lactose
d. Basal level of expression of lac operon, leading to a low level of synthesis of permease

136. A loss-of-function mutation in the gene that encodes the Catabolite Activator Protein
(CAP) of E. coli would have what effect on expression of the lac operon?
a. Expression would be very high in the presence of lactose and off in its absence, regardless of the
presence or absence of glucose
b. Expression would be low in the presence of lactose and off in its absence, regardless of the
presence or absence of glucose
c. Expression would be low in the presence of glucose and very high in absence of lactose
d. Expression would be off in the presence of glucose and low in its absence, regardless of the
presence or absence of lactose

137. Regarding the lac operon, if lactose is present, which of the following occurs?
a. Lactose binds to the operator preventing the promoter from attracting RNA polymerase and
preventing transcription.
b. Lactose bind to RNA polymerase, which then binds to the promoter and transcribes the needed
genes.
c. Lactose binds to the repressor, which does not bind to the operator, and RNA polymerase
transcribes the needed genes.
d. Lactose binds to the operon, which attracts RNA polymerase, then transcription of the needed
genes occurs.

138. The universal regulatory mechanism in eukaryotes for controlling gene expression
includes
a. control of the processing of mRNA after it is transcribed from DNA but before it leaves the
nucleus, and control of the rate it leaves the nucleus.
b. control of mRNA in the cytoplasm after it leaves the nucleus, including changes to mRNA before
translation begins.
c. control of polypeptides after they have been synthesized but before they are functional.
d. All of these mechanisms are used; there is no single universal mechanism.

139. Human red blood cells can live from two to four months without a nucleus and yet they
continue to synthesize hemoglobin. This
a. means that the necessary mRNAs are able to persist all this time.
b. suggests that there is a low level of ribonucleases to degrade the mRNA.
c. means that both the necessary mRNAs must persist and there must be a low level of
ribonucleases present.
d. still requires DNA coding, although the nuclear membrane is gone, there must be chromatin
spread throughout the red blood cell.

140. In transcriptional control in eukaryotic cells

a. Enhancers may be involved in the promotion as well as regulation of gene transcription.
b. May be due to the phosphorylation of transcriptional factors by a kinase.
c. Enhances may be some distance from the promotor sites they control.
d. All of the choices are correct.

141. Housekeeping genes in bacteria are commonly expressed constitutively, but not all of
these genes are expressed at the same level (the same number of molecules per cell). The
primary mechanism responsible for variations in the level of constitutive enzymes from different
genes is that:
a. all constitutive enzymes are synthesized at the same rate, but are not degraded equally.
b. their promoters have different affinities for RNA polymerase holoenzyme.
c. some constitutively expressed genes are more inducible than others.
d. some constitutively expressed genes are more repressible than others.

142. The diagram below represents a hypothetical operon in the bacterium E. coli. The
operon consists of two structural genes (A and B), which code for the enzymes A-ase and B-ase,
respectively, and also includes P (promoter) and O (operator) regions as shown.

When a certain compound (X) is added to the growth medium of E. coli, the separate enzymes A-
ase and B-ase are both synthesized at a 50-fold higher rate than in the absence of X. (X has a
molecular weight of about 200.) Which of the following statements is true of the operon
described above?
a. All four genes (A, B, O, and P) will be transcribed into an mRNA that will then be translated into
four different proteins.
b. The 5' end of the messenger from this operon will correspond to the right end of the operon as
drawn.
c. The repressor for this operon binds just to the right of A.
d. When RNA polymerase makes mRNA from this operon, it begins RNA synthesis just to the left of
gene A.

143. The diagram below represents a hypothetical operon in the bacterium E. coli. The
operon consists of two structural genes (A and B) that code for the enzymes A-ase and B-ase,
respectively, and also includes P (promoter) and O (operator) regions as shown.

When a certain compound (X) is added to the growth medium of E. coli, the separate enzymes A-
ase and B-ase are both synthesized at a 50-fold higher rate than in the absence of X (which has a
molecular weight of about 200). Which one of the following statements is true of such an
operon?
a. Adding X to the growth medium causes a repressor protein to be released from the O region.
b. Adding X to the growth medium causes a repressor protein to bind tightly to the O region.
c. Synthesis of the mRNA from this operon is not changed by the addition of compound X.
d. The mRNA copied from this operon will be covalently linked to a short piece of DNA at the 5' end.

144. An example of coordinate control is the down-regulation of ribosomal RNA synthesis in

response to amino acid starvation, which will cause synthesis of ribosomal proteins to be
limited. What is the correct order of the following events that participate in the signaling
process?
1) Binding of stringent factor to the ribosome.
2) Formation of the unusual nucleotide ppGpp.
3) Formation of the unusual nucleotide pppGpp.
4) Uncharged tRNA binds in the ribosomal A-site.
a. 1, 4, 2, 3
b. 1, 4, 3, 2
 c. 4, 1, 2, 3
d. 4, 1, 3, 2

145. Match the protein or structural feature on the left with one appropriate description on
the right.
1) ____ activator (a) a positive regulator
2) ____ helix-turn-helix (b) a negative regulator
3) ____ leucine zipper (c) facilitates transcription only when bound to a signal
4) ____ repressor (d) a DNA-binding structural motif found in many prokaryotic regulatory
proteins
5) ____ zinc finger (e) a structural feature involved in protein-protein interactions between
some regulatory protein monomers
(f) a protein that dissociates from DNA when bound to a signal molecule
(g) a DNA-binding structural motif found in many eukaryotic regulatory
proteins
a. 1a; 2d; 3e; 4b;5 g
a. 1a; 2e;3 b; 4d; 5g
b. 1e; 2b;3 g;4 d; 5a
c. 1g; 2b; 3d; 4a;5 b

146. Genes control development by

a. Controlling where and when proteins are synthesized
b. Containing small pre-formed body parts and organs that become expressed during development
c. Directly controlling phenotypes without intermediates or influence from the environment
d. Containing instructions which describe in detail the final form to be achieved during development

147. The development of the anterior-posterior axis of Drosophila is initiated when

a. The mother packages bicoid and nanos mRNA into the developing oocyte
b. The toll receptor is activated after fertilization, leading to nuclear localization of Dorsal protein
c. The terminal group protein Torso sets up the anterior and posterior poles of the embryo
d. The homeotic genes specify the fate of individual segments
e. The sperm enters the micropile at the anterior end, thus specifying the anterio-posterior axis

148. A gap gene mutation might cause which of the following defects in the embryonic body
plan?
a. Every other segment would be missing, resulting in T1, T3, A2, A4, etc. but no T2,A1, A3, and so
on.
b. Segments A2 through A6 would be missing, but the rest of the pattern is essentially normal.
c. No segmentation would be evident.
d. Patterning within each segment would be abnormal, causing for example denticle belts to form
across the entire segment.
e. The identity of one or more segments would be transformed to that of a different segment, such
that the T3 leg would transformed to a T2 leg.

149. The activation of zygotic hunchback expression by Bicoid protein illustrates what
principle in the establishment of positional information in embryos?
a. The mother can influence development through the packaging of materials into the egg.
b. A gradient of a protein can activate a gene in a discrete region of an embryo through a threshold
effect.
c. The identity of segments in the embryo is a reflection of their position in the embryo.
d. A cascade of gene activations occurs in the syncitial blastoderm.
e. Genes are activated or repressed by the binding of transcription factors to their regulatory
regions.

150. The adult body plan of Drosophila is based on reiterating structures called segments;
segment precursors (parasegments) are first positioned at the cell-by-cell level by which group
of genes?
a. maternal genes such as bicoid
b. gap genes such as Kruppel
c. pair-rule genes such as even-skipped
d. segmentation genes such as engrailed
e. homeotic genes such as antennapedia

151. Mutations in homeotic genes can lead to what type of developmental defect?
a. The anterior portion of the embryo does not develop.
b. Several adjacent segments will be missing from an otherwise intact embryo.
c. The embryo will develop with every other segment failing to form.
d. Segment and compartment boundaries will fail to form.
e. The development of segments will be changed wholesale from their normal identity to that of a
different segment.
Answer key Gene Regulation

1. b

2. c

3. b

4. b

5. b

6. c

7. b

8. b

9. d

10. c

11. d

12. d

13. b

14. a

15. d

16. b

17. c

18. b

19. d

20. d

21. d

22. c

23. a

24. d

25. c

26. b

27. d

28. d
29. b

30. c

31. a

32. c

33. d

34. d

35. c

36. b

37. d

38. a

39. d

40. a

41. a

42. c

43. b

44. c

45. a

46. d

47. b

48. d

49. b

50. c

51. d

52. a

53. c

54. b

55. c

56. d

57. c
58. d

59. d

60. c

61. c

62. a

63. d

64. a

65. c

66. c

67. c

68. b

69. c

70. c

71. d

72. b

73. d

74. b

75. d

76. a

77. c

78. c

79. a

80. d

81. d

82. d

83. b

84. a

85. c

86. a
87. e

88. a

89. d

90. a

91. d

92. d

93. c

94. a

95. b

96. a

97. a

98. d

99. c

100. a

101. c

102. d

103. b

104. d

105. a

106. d

107. b

108. d

109. a

110. b

111. a

112. a

113. a

114. d

115. d
116. b

117. b

118. a

119. b

120. a

121. d

122. e

123. d

124. d

125. a

126. b

127. d

128. a

129. a

130. c

131. a

132. a

133. a

134. a

135. d

136. b

137. c

138. d

139. c

140. d

141. b

142. d

143. a

144. d
145. a

146. a

147. a

148. b

149. b

150. c

151. e