Principles of Biotechnology: NEET MCQs with Answers

15 free questions on Principles of Biotechnology 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.

Practise all 40 Principles of Biotechnology questions free Take a free timed test

Question 1

Previous-year question
Which one of the following organelles is related to genetic engineering? [AIPMT 1994]
  1. Mitochondria
  2. Plasmids
  3. Golgi bodies
  4. Lysosomes
Show answer
Answer: (B) Plasmids
Explanation: Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements found in many bacteria and a few eukaryotic cells. Because they replicate independently and migrate to daughter cells, they are widely used as carriers of cloned genes; a plasmid carrying novel DNA is called a chimeric plasmid.

Question 2

Previous-year question
Making an animal genotypically superior by introducing some foreign genes into it is called [AIPMT 1996]
  1. immunisation
  2. genetic engineering
  3. tissue culture
  4. biotechnology
Show answer
Answer: (B) genetic engineering
Explanation: Genetic engineering is the experimental manipulation of genetic material, especially for industrial or medical uses. It encompasses gene cloning, DNA modification by changes in sequence arrangement or deletion, and the introduction of novel genes into cells and organisms.

Question 3

Previous-year question
Which one of the following is related to genetic engineering? [AIPMT 1999]
  1. Mutation
  2. Plasmid
  3. Plastid
  4. Heterosis
Show answer
Answer: (B) Plasmid
Explanation: Plasmids are small, circular, double-stranded DNA molecules found in bacteria which can be manipulated in genetic engineering to carry and transfer genes between organisms. They range in size from 1 to 200 kilobases and frequently carry antibiotic resistance genes.

Question 4

Previous-year question
Which one of the following techniques made it possible to genetically engineer living organisms? [AIPMT 2011]
  1. Recombinant DNA techniques
  2. X-ray diffraction
  3. Heavier isotope labelling
  4. Hybridisation
Show answer
Answer: (A) Recombinant DNA techniques
Explanation: Recombinant DNA molecules are formed by laboratory methods of genetic recombination that bring together genetic material from multiple sources, creating sequences that would not otherwise be found in biological organisms.

Question 5

Previous-year question
The DNA molecule to which the gene of interest is integrated for cloning is called a [AIPMT 2015]
  1. transformer
  2. vector
  3. template
  4. carrier
Show answer
Answer: (B) vector
Explanation: A vector is a DNA molecule used as a vehicle to carry foreign genetic material artificially into another cell, where it can be replicated or expressed. A vector carrying foreign DNA is termed recombinant DNA.

Question 6

Previous-year question
Cutting of DNA at specific locations became possible with the discovery of [AIPMT 2015]
  1. restriction enzymes
  2. probes
  3. selectable markers
  4. ligases
Show answer
Answer: (A) restriction enzymes
Explanation: Restriction enzymes are the DNA-cutting enzymes found in bacteria. A restriction enzyme recognises and cuts DNA only at a particular sequence of nucleotides; for example, the bacterium Haemophilus aegyptius produces HaeIII, which cuts wherever it encounters 5′-GGCC-3′.

Question 7

Previous-year question
In crop improvement programmes, haploids are important because they [1994]
  1. grow better under adverse conditions
  2. require half the nutrients
  3. form perfect homozygotes on doubling
  4. are helpful in the study of meiosis
Show answer
Answer: (C) form perfect homozygotes on doubling
Explanation: Doubling the chromosome number of a haploid with colchicine gives a plant homozygous at every locus in a single step. Reaching the same degree of homozygosity by repeated selfing would take six or seven generations.
Doing well? Create a free account to take timed tests on this topic and see your weak areas.

Question 8

Previous-year question
Haploid plants are preferred over diploids for mutation study because in haploids [1993]
  1. culturing is easier
  2. recessive mutations express themselves immediately
  3. dominant mutations express themselves immediately
  4. induction of mutations is easier
Show answer
Answer: (B) recessive mutations express themselves immediately
Explanation: With only one copy of each gene there is no second allele to mask a newly arisen recessive mutation, so it appears in the phenotype at once instead of remaining hidden in the heterozygote as it would in a diploid.

Question 9

Previous-year question
A population of genetically identical individuals obtained by asexual reproduction is a [1993]
  1. deme
  2. callus
  3. aggregate
  4. clone
Show answer
Answer: (D) clone
Explanation: A clone consists of individuals derived by mitosis from a single ancestor and therefore identical in genotype. A callus is the unorganised mass of dividing cells formed in culture, and a deme is a local interbreeding population.

Question 10

Previous-year question
Which of the following plant cells will show totipotency? [1993]
  1. Meristem
  2. Sieve tubes
  3. Cork cells
  4. Xylem vessels
Show answer
Answer: (A) Meristem
Explanation: Totipotency requires a living nucleated cell capable of division. Meristematic cells satisfy this, whereas sieve tubes have lost their nucleus and cork cells and xylem vessels are dead at maturity.

Question 11

Previous-year question
Cellular totipotency is demonstrated by [2004]
  1. all plant cells
  2. only bacterial cells
  3. all eukaryotic cells
  4. only gymnosperm cells
Show answer
Answer: (A) all plant cells
Explanation: Plant cells generally retain the capacity to dedifferentiate and regenerate a whole plant, which is why tissue culture is so much easier in plants than in animals. In most animal cells this capacity is lost once differentiation is complete.

Question 12

Previous-year question
Cellular totipotency was demonstrated by [1991]
  1. F. C. Steward
  2. Theodore Schwann
  3. Robert Hooke
  4. A. V. Leeuwenhoek
Show answer
Answer: (A) F. C. Steward
Explanation: Steward regenerated whole carrot plants from single phloem cells cultured in coconut milk, showing that a differentiated somatic cell retains all the genetic information needed to reconstitute the entire organism.

Question 13

Previous-year question
(NEET 2024) Which structures are fused in somatic hybridisation of two plant varieties?
  1. Protoplasts
  2. Pollens
  3. Callus
  4. Somatic embryos
Show answer
Answer: (A) Protoplasts
Explanation: Somatic hybridisation fuses protoplasts (cells without walls).

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT an example of modern biotechnology?
  1. Producing a recombinant DNA vaccine
  2. Large-scale production of a human protein in genetically modified bacteria
  3. Making curd from milk with lactic acid bacteria
  4. Synthesising a gene and inserting it into a plasmid
Show answer
Answer: (C) Making curd from milk with lactic acid bacteria
Explanation: Modern biotechnology rests on genetic engineering and bioprocess engineering. Curd making uses natural microbes without altering their genetic material, so it is a traditional practice. The other three involve recombinant DNA or engineered organisms.

Question 15

The definition of biotechnology that covers both traditional and modern molecular biotechnology was given by the EFB. The full form of EFB is:
  1. European Federation of Biotechnology
  2. Engineering Federation of Biotechnology
  3. European Foundation for Bioengineering
  4. European Forum of Biotechnology
Show answer
Answer: (A) European Federation of Biotechnology
Explanation: EFB stands for the European Federation of Biotechnology. It defined biotechnology as the integration of natural science and organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services.

Want more Principles of Biotechnology questions?

E-GYAN NIDHI has 40 questions on this topic and 63,000+ in total, all free: timed CBT tests, NEET marking and instant analysis.

Register free Free Sunday Mock Test

More topics in Biotechnology and Its Application

↑