Cloning & Biotechnology (OCR A Level Biology): Exam Questions

Corals are a group of animals that live on the sea bed close to the surface of the water. Many corals can reproduce both sexually and asexually.

Which of the following statements about asexually-produced coral offspring is not true?

Mycoprotein is a food produced using the fungus Fusarium venenatum.

Which statement about mycoprotein is correct?

Immobilised enzymes can be produced by which of the following methods?

The last giant Galapagos tortoise died in 2012. Scientists froze some of the tortoise’s cells.

The following statements describe processes involved in potential cloning of the giant Galapagos tortoise using the cells. They are not in the correct order.

1. A donor egg is enucleated.

2. The embryo develops into a mature egg, which is incubated.

3. A somatic cell from the tortoise is defrosted and the nucleus is removed.

4. Electrofusion of the host cell and new nucleus.

5. The somatic cell nucleus is inserted into the enucleated oocyte.

6. The transformed egg divides in vitro.

Which option states the correct order for producing a clone of the giant Galapagos tortoise?

Which row correctly describes the different cloning mechanisms?

β-glucosidases are a diverse group of enzymes which hydrolyse glycosidic bonds and are present in a wide variety of organisms. One of their uses in the food industry is the hydrolysis of bitter compounds during juice extraction to increase the sweetness of the final product. These enzymes are often immobilised when used in the food industry to increase production and save on costs.

Scientists compared the activity of free β-glucosidase to that of immobilised β-glucosidase over a range of different temperatures. Their results are shown in the graph below.

Which of the following would be the most valid comparison between free and immobilised β-glucosidase?

A bacterial enzyme from the species Caldicoprobacter algeriensis can be immobilised onto polymethacrylate beads for the conversion of glucose into fructose in the food industry, as shown in the diagram below.

What is the name of the enzyme that is immobilised on the polymethacrylate beads?

The graph shows a standard population growth curve of a species of bacteria used in the production of food.

Which of the following statements gives the best explanation for the trend seen at the point labelled X on the graph.

Which of the following statements can be applied to the process of batch fermentation?

1. Microorganisms are continually grown and products harvested.

2. A closed culture is required.

3. Continual provision of nutrients is required.

4. A fixed volume of growth medium is provided.

Bacteria can be cultured using batch or continuous fermentation.

Which of the following statements are true of continuous fermentation?

Both micropropagation and cuttings can be used to produce new plants.

Which of the following statements are true of both of these processes?

A farmer who sells her milk to the local farm shop is interested in producing a small batch of lactose-free milk for lactose intolerant customers.

Which factor will most influence her decision on how to produce lactose-free milk?

In insect species such as ants and bees, males are haploid and females are diploid. There is usually only one reproducing female in the colony. Sterile female workers or new queens are produced through sexual reproduction and are 50% related to the queen. All males are 100% related to the queen.

Which of these statements are correct?