Which of the following is true of embryonic stem cells but not of adult stem cells?
A) They can differentiate into many cell types.
B) They make up the majority of cells of the tissue from which they are derived.
C) They can continue to replicate for an indefinite period.
D) They can provide enormous amounts of information about the process of gene regulation.
E) One aim of using them is to provide cells for repair of diseased tissue.

Answer B

Most human-infecting viruses are maintained in the human population only. However, a zoonosis is a disease that is transmitted from other vertebrates to humans, at least sporadically, without requiring viral mutation. Which of the following is the best example of a zoonosis?
A) rabies
B) herpesvirus
C) smallpox
D) HIV
E) hepatitis virus

Answer A

Which of the following describes the transfer of polypeptide sequences to a membrane to analyze gene expression?
A) Southern blotting
B) Northern blotting
C) Western blotting
D) Eastern blotting
E) RT-PCR

Answer C

The reason for using Taq polymerase for PCR is that:
A) it is heat stable and can withstand the temperature changes of the cycler.
B) only minute amounts are needed for each cycle of PCR.
C) it binds more readily than other polymerases to primer.
D) it has regions that are complementary to primers.
E) All of these are correct.

Answer A

Which of the following is least associated with the others?
A) horizontal gene transfer
B) genetic recombination
C) conjugation
D) transformation
E) binary fission

Answer E

In Fred Griffith's experiments, harmless R strain pneumococcus became lethal S strain pneumococcus as the result of which of the following?
1. horizontal gene transfer
2. transduction
3. conjugation
4. transformation
5. genetic recombination
A) 2 only
B) 4 only
C) 2 and 5
D) 1, 3, and 5
E) 1, 4, and 5

Answer E

Why is it so important to be able to amplify DNA fragments when studying genes?
A) DNA fragments are too small to use individually.
B) A gene may represent only a millionth of the cell's DNA, and to have multiple copies in case of laboratory error.
C) Restriction enzymes cut DNA into fragments that are too small.
D) A clone requires multiple copies of each gene per clone.
E) It is important to have multiple copies of DNA in the case of laboratory error.

Answer B

Genetically engineered plants:
A) are more difficult to engineer than animals.
B) include a transgenic rice plant that can help prevent vitamin A deficiency.
C) are being rapidly developed, but traditional plant breeding programs are still the only method used to develop new plants.
D) are able to fix nitrogen themselves.
E) are banned throughout the world

Answer B

Which of the following accounts for someone who has had a herpesvirus-mediated cold sore or genital sore getting flare-ups for the rest of his or her life?
A) re-infection by a closely related herpesvirus of a different strain
B) re-infection by the same herpesvirus strain
C) co-infection with an unrelated virus that causes the same symptoms
D) copies of the herpesvirus genome permanently maintained in host nuclei
E) copies of the herpesvirus genome permanently maintained in host cell cytoplasm

Answer D

Which enzyme was used to produce the molecule in Figure 20.1?
A) ligase
B) transcriptase
C) a restriction enzyme
D) RNA polymerase
E) DNA polymerase

Answer C
Restriction Enzyme

Why might a laboratory be using dideoxy nucleotides?
A) to separate DNA fragments
B) to clone the breakpoints of cut DNA
C) to produce cDNA from mRNA
D) to sequence a DNA fragment
E) to visualize DNA expression

Answer D

As genetic technology makes testing for a wide variety of genotypes possible, which of the following is likely to be an increasingly troublesome issue?
A) use of genotype information to provide positive identification of criminals
B) using technology to identify genes that cause criminal behaviors
C) the need to legislate for the protection of the privacy of genetic information
D) discrimination against certain racial groups because of major genetic differences
E) alteration of human phenotypes to prevent early disease

Answer C

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

Answer A

In 1997, Dolly the sheep was cloned. Which of the following processes was used?
A) use of mitochondrial DNA from adult female cells of another ewe
B) replication and dedifferentiation of adult stem cells from sheep bone marrow
C) separation of an early stage sheep blastula into separate cells, one of which was incubated in a surrogate ewe
D) fusion of an adult cell's nucleus with an enucleated sheep egg, followed by incubation in a surrogate
E) isolation of stem cells from a lamb embryo and production of a zygote equivalent

Answer D

Why do RNA viruses appear to have higher rates of mutation
A) RNA nucleotides are more unstable than DNA nucleotides.
B) Replication of their genomes does not involve proofreading.
C) RNA viruses replicate faster.
D) RNA viruses can incorporate a variety of nonstandard bases.
E) RNA viruses are more sensitive to mutagens.

Answer B

The host range of a virus is determined by:
A) the enzymes carried by the virus.
B) whether its nucleic acid is DNA or RNA.
C) the proteins in the host's cytoplasm.
D) the enzymes produced by the virus before it infects the cell.
E) the proteins on its surface and that of the host

Answer E

Yeast artificial chromosomes contain which of the following elements?
A) centromeres only
B) telomeres only
C) origin of replication only
D) centromeres and telomeres only
E) centromeres, telomeres, and an origin of replication

Answer E

The first cloned cat, called Carbon Copy, was a calico, but she looked significantly different from her female parent. Why?
A) The environment, as well as genetics, affects phenotypic variation.
B) Fur color genes in cats are influenced by differential acetylation patterns.
C) Cloned animals have been found to have a higher frequency of transposon activation
D) X inactivation in the embryo is random and produces different patterns.
E) The telomeres of the parent's chromosomes were shorter than those of an embryo.

Answer D

Which of the following is characteristic of the lytic cycle?
A) Many bacterial cells containing viral DNA are produced.
B) Viral DNA is incorporated into the host genome.
C) The viral genome replicates without destroying the host.
D) A large number of phages are released at a time.
E) The virus-host relationship usually lasts for generations.

Answer D

Viral genomes vary greatly in size and may include from four genes to several hundred genes. Which of the following viral features is most apt to correlate with the size of the genome?
A) size of the viral capsomeres
B) RNA versus DNA genome
C) double- versus single-strand genomes
D) size and shape of the capsid
E) glycoproteins of the envelope

Answer D

DNA microarrays have made a huge impact on genomic studies because they:
A) can be used to eliminate the function of any gene in the genome.
B) can be used to introduce entire genomes into bacterial cells.
C) allow the expression of many or even all of the genes in the genome to be compared at once.
D) allow physical maps of the genome to be assembled in a very short time.
E) dramatically enhance the efficiency of restriction enzymes.

Answer C

Which of the following statements describes the lysogenic cycle of lambda (λ) phage?
A) After infection, the viral genes immediately turn the host cell into a lambda-producing factory, and the host cell then lyses.
B) Most of the prophage genes are activated by the product of a particular prophage gene.
C) The phage genome replicates along with the host genome.
D) Certain environmental triggers can cause the phage to exit the host genome, switching from the lytic to the lysogenic.
E) The phage DNA is incorporated by crossing over into any nonspecific site on the host cell's DNA.

Answer C

To introduce a particular piece of DNA into an animal cell, such as that of a mouse, you would find more probable success with which of the following methods?
A) the shotgun approach
B) electroporation followed by recombination
C) introducing a plasmid into the cell
D) infecting the mouse cell with a Ti plasmid
E) transcription and translation

Answer B

A student wishes to clone a sequence of DNA of ~200 kb. Which vector would be appropriate?
A) a plasmid
B) a typical bacteriophage
C) a BAC
D) a plant virus
E) a large polypeptide

Answer C

Which of the following is used to make complementary DNA (cDNA) from RNA?
A) restriction enzymes
B) gene cloning
C) DNA ligase
D) gel electrophoresis
E) reverse transcriptase

Answer E

Which of the three types of viruses shown above would you expect to include glycoproteins
A) I only
B) II only
C) III only
D) I and II only
E) all three

Answer D

The DNA fragments making up a genomic library are generally contained in:
A) BACs.
B) recombinant viral RNA.
C) individual wells.
D) DNA-RNA hybrids.
E) radioactive eukaryotic cells.

Answer A

What is the most logical sequence of steps for splicing foreign DNA into a plasmid and inserting the plasmid into a bacterium?
I. Transform bacteria with a recombinant DNA molecule.
II. Cut the plasmid DNA using restriction enzymes.
III. Extract plasmid DNA from bacterial cells.
IV. Hydrogen-bond the plasmid DNA to nonplasmid DNA fragments.
V. Use ligase to seal plasmid DNA to nonplasmid DNA.
A) I, II, IV, III, V
B) II, III, V, IV, I
C) III, II, IV, V, I
D) III, IV, V, I, II
E) IV, V, I, II, III

Answer C

In a hypothetical situation, the genes for sex pilus construction and for tetracycline resistance are located together on the same plasmid within a particular bacterium. If this bacterium readily performs conjugation involving a copy of this plasmid, then the result should be:
A) a bacterium that has undergone transduction.
B) the rapid spread of tetracycline resistance to other bacteria in that habitat.
C) the subsequent loss of tetracycline resistance from this bacterium.
D) the production of endospores among the bacterium's progeny.
E) the temporary possession by this bacterium of a completely diploid genome.

Answer B

How does a bacterial cell protect its own DNA from restriction enzymes?
A) by adding methyl groups to adenines and cytosines
B) by using DNA ligase to seal the bacterial DNA into a closed circle
C) by adding histones to protect the double-stranded DNA
D) by forming "sticky ends" of bacterial DNA to prevent the enzyme from attaching
E) by reinforcing the bacterial DNA structure with covalent phosphodiester bonds

Answer A

Which of these statements about prokaryotes is correct?
A) Bacterial cells conjugate to mutually exchange genetic material.
B) Their genetic material is confined within vesicles known as plasmids.
C) They divide by binary fission, without mitosis or meiosis.
D) The persistence of bacteria throughout evolutionary time is due to their genetic homogeneity (in other words, sameness).
E) Genetic variation in bacteria is not known to occur, because of their asexual mode of reproduction.

Answer C

Which of the three types of viruses shown above would you expect to include a capsid
A) I only
B) II only
C) III only
D) I and II only
E) all three

Answer E

In the figure, when new viruses are being assembled (IV), what mediates the assembly?
A) host cell chaperones
B) assembly proteins coded for by the host nucleus
C) assembly proteins coded for by the viral genes
D) viral RNA intermediates
E) nothing; they self-assemble

Answer E

The segment of DNA shown in Figure 20.2 has restriction sites I and II, which create restriction fragments A, B, and C. Which of the gels produced by electrophoresis shown below best represents the separation and identity of these fragments?

Answer B
C A B