Question

Explain how the process of RNA interference technology is used effectively to prevent infestation of the roots of tobacco plant by the nematode…

Accepted Answer

(a) Using Agrobacterium vectors nematode–specific genes were introduced into the host plants, the introduction of DNA was such that it produced both sense and anti-sense RNA in the host cells, these two RNA’s being complementary to each other formed a double stranded (dsRNA), that initiated RNAi and thus silenced the specific mRNA of the nematode, consequently the parasite could not survive in a transgenics host expressing specific interfering RNA OR (b) - Denaturation: strands of dsDNA are separated by heating - Annealing: Multiple copies of the gene (or DNA) of interest is synthesised ‘in vitro’ using two sets of primers - Extension: the enzyme thermostable DNA polymerase/Taq polymerase, isolated from a bacterium Thermus aquaticus, extends the primers using the deoxyribonucleotides provided in the reaction and the genomic DNA as a the template - Amplification: replication of DNA is repeated many times to form more than a billion copies of a fragment of DNA

Explain how the process of RNA interference technology is used effectively to prevent infestation of the roots of tobacco plant by the nematode Meloidegyne incognitia.

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(a)OR(b)Explain how the process of RNA interference technology is used effectively to prevent infestation of the roots of tobacco plant by the nematode Meloidegyne incognitia.Explain how more than a billion copies of a fragment of DNA are formed using the technique of PCR.

Marking-scheme solution

More from Biotechnology : Principles and Processes

Explain how the process of RNA interference technology is used effectively to prevent infestation of the roots of tobacco plant by the nematode Meloidegyne incognitia.