Molecular Biology – Human Genome Project and DNA Fingerprinting: NEET MCQs with Answers

14 free questions on Molecular Biology – Human Genome Project and DNA Fingerprinting for NEET (UG), starting with previous-year NEET and AIPMT questions. Try each one, then tap Show answer for the answer and a short explanation.

Syllabus covered: Human Genome Project and DNA Fingerprinting

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Question 1

Previous-year question
Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) refer to [NEET 2019]
  1. Genes expressed as RNA
  2. Polypeptide expression
  3. DNA polymorphism
  4. Novel DNA sequences
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Answer: (A) Genes expressed as RNA
Explanation: The EST approach to genome analysis focuses only on those sequences that are transcribed into RNA, i.e. the expressed genes. The alternative approach, sequence annotation, sequences the whole genome regardless of function.  

Question 2

Previous-year question
DNA fragments are [NEET 2017]
  1. Negatively charged
  2. Neutral
  3. Either positively or negatively charged depending on their size
  4. Positively charged
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Answer: (A) Negatively charged
Explanation: The phosphate groups of the backbone confer a net negative charge on DNA irrespective of fragment size. This is why DNA fragments migrate towards the anode during gel electrophoresis.

Question 3

Previous-year question
Which of the following is NOT required for any of the techniques of DNA fingerprinting available at present? [NEET 2016]
  1. Polymerase chain reaction
  2. Zinc finger analysis
  3. Restriction enzymes
  4. DNA–DNA hybridisation
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Answer: (B) Zinc finger analysis
Explanation: DNA fingerprinting involves digestion with restriction enzymes, amplification by PCR, separation by electrophoresis and detection by hybridisation with labelled probes. Zinc finger analysis concerns DNA-binding protein motifs and plays no part in it.

Question 4

Previous-year question
Satellite DNA is important because it [AIPMT 2015]
  1. Shows a high degree of polymorphism in a population and also in an individual, which is heritable from parents to children
  2. Does not code for proteins and is the same in all members of the population
  3. Codes for enzymes needed for DNA replication
  4. Codes for proteins needed in the cell cycle
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Answer: (A) Shows a high degree of polymorphism in a population and also in an individual, which is heritable from parents to children
Explanation: Satellite DNA does not code for protein but its repeat number varies greatly between individuals, and this polymorphism is inherited. That is exactly why it can be used for DNA fingerprinting and paternity testing.

Question 5

Previous-year question
How many genome types are present in a typical green plant cell? [1998]
  1. More than five
  2. Two
  3. More than ten
  4. Three
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Answer: (D) Three
Explanation: A green plant cell contains three separate genomes: the nuclear genome, the mitochondrial genome and the plastid genome. The last two are circular, resemble bacterial DNA, and are the basis of the endosymbiotic theory.

Question 6

Previous-year question
A genetic map is one that [2003]
  1. establishes the various stages in gene evolution
  2. shows the distribution of species in a region
  3. shows the stages of cell division
  4. establishes the sites of genes on a chromosome
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Answer: (D) establishes the sites of genes on a chromosome
Explanation: A genetic or linkage map shows the order of genes along a chromosome and the distances between them, the distance being measured by the frequency of recombination. Sturtevant constructed the first such map for the X chromosome of Drosophila.

Question 7

Previous-year question
Satellite DNA is a useful tool in [2009]
  1. forensic science
  2. organ transplantation
  3. genetic engineering
  4. sex determination
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Answer: (A) forensic science
Explanation: Because the repeat number at satellite loci is highly variable and is inherited, the profile can identify an individual from a trace of blood, semen or hair and can establish parentage. Both applications belong to forensic work.
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Question 8

Previous-year question
The basis for DNA fingerprinting is [1997]
  1. the availability of cloned DNA
  2. the occurrence of restriction fragment length polymorphism
  3. knowledge of the human karyotype
  4. phenotypic differences between individuals
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Answer: (B) the occurrence of restriction fragment length polymorphism
Explanation: Differences in the number of repeats between individuals alter the positions of restriction sites, so digestion yields fragments of different lengths in different people. Separating these by electrophoresis and probing them produces the characteristic banding pattern.

Question 9

Previous-year question
DNA fingerprinting refers to [2003]
  1. techniques used for the molecular analysis of different specimens of DNA
  2. molecular analysis of the profiles of DNA samples
  3. techniques used for identifying the fingerprints of individuals
  4. analysis of DNA samples using imprinting devices
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Answer: (B) molecular analysis of the profiles of DNA samples
Explanation: DNA fingerprinting compares the pattern of repetitive sequences at particular loci between samples. Since these vary widely between individuals but are identical in all tissues of one person, the profile identifies an individual with near certainty.

Question 10

Previous-year question
How many base pairs are found in the haploid genome of humans? [2001]
  1. 7 × 10⁹
  2. 3.1 × 10⁹
  3. 3 × 10⁶
  4. 4 × 10⁸
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Answer: (B) 3.1 × 10⁹
Explanation: The Human Genome Project established the haploid genome at about 3.1 billion base pairs, distributed over twenty-three chromosomes, containing some twenty thousand protein-coding genes. Less than two per cent of it actually codes for protein.

Question 11

Alongside the human genome, the sequences of several non-human model organisms were also completed. Which nematode, free-living and non-pathogenic, is one of these model organisms?
  1. Ascaris lumbricoides
  2. Caenorhabditis elegans
  3. Wuchereria bancrofti
  4. Meloidogyne incognita
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Answer: (B) Caenorhabditis elegans
Explanation: Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, non-pathogenic nematode and was sequenced as a model organism, along with bacteria, yeast, Drosophila, rice and Arabidopsis. Meloidogyne incognita parasitises tobacco roots. Ascaris and Wuchereria are human parasites.

Question 12

The Human Genome Project produced so much sequence data that high-speed computational devices were needed to store, retrieve and analyse it. Which new area of biology developed rapidly in close association with this project?
  1. Biosystematics
  2. Biogeography
  3. Bioinformatics
  4. Biomechanics
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Answer: (C) Bioinformatics
Explanation: The sequencing of about 3 billion base pairs generated an enormous amount of data. Handling this data required computers for storage, retrieval and analysis. This need drove the rapid growth of bioinformatics, which applies computational methods to biological information.

Question 13

According to the Human Genome Project, the chromosomes with the largest and the smallest number of genes are, respectively,
  1. chromosome 1 with 231 genes and chromosome Y with 2968 genes
  2. chromosome Y with 2968 genes and chromosome 1 with 231 genes
  3. chromosome 1 with 2968 genes and chromosome Y with 231 genes
  4. chromosome X with 2968 genes and chromosome 21 with 231 genes
Show answer
Answer: (C) chromosome 1 with 2968 genes and chromosome Y with 231 genes
Explanation: Chromosome 1 carries the most genes, 2968. The Y chromosome carries the fewest, 231. This is one of the salient observations of the Human Genome Project.

Question 14

The average human gene has about 3000 bases, and the largest known human gene is about 800 times as long. Which option correctly names this gene and its approximate length?
  1. Dystrophin gene, 2.4 million bases
  2. Dystrophin gene, 2.4 lakh bases
  3. β-globin gene, 2.4 million bases
  4. Insulin gene, 2.4 million bases
Show answer
Answer: (A) Dystrophin gene, 2.4 million bases
Explanation: 800 × 3000 bases gives 2.4 million bases. The Human Genome Project identified dystrophin as the largest known human gene at this length. Gene sizes in humans therefore vary greatly around the average.

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