Ques. 1AIPMT 2012 (Mains)
Tobacco plants resistant to a nematode have been developed by the introduction of DNA that produced (in the host cells) :
- An antifeedant
- A toxic protein
- Both sense and anti-sense RNA
- A particular hormone
Answer
(3) Both sense and anti-sense RNA
Solution
As per NCERT, a nematode Meloidogyne incognita infects the roots of tobacco plants; resistance was obtained by RNA interference (RNAi).
⇒ Using Agrobacterium vectors, nematode-specific genes were introduced so that they produced both sense and anti-sense RNA in the host cells.
∴ These complementary RNAs formed dsRNA, which silenced the specific mRNA of the nematode, and the parasite could not survive.
Answer: (3)