Question 1

Describe the method for creating a transgenic mouse by pronuclear injection. What information can a transgenic mouse provide?

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Question 2

All of the following are true of stem cells except:

Accepted Answer

A)  They can be found in many developing organs. 
B)  They are terminally differentiated. 
C)  They have a high replicative capacity. 
D)  They may differentiate to replace cells lost to injury.

Question 3

Mating mice from different founder lineages that carry identical transgenes will result in

Accepted Answer

A)  one transgene being expressed and the other silenced. 
B)  a heterozygote for the transgene. 
C)  a true homozygote in which independent segregation of the transgenic loci is predictable. 
D)  a homozygote in which segregation of the transgenic loci is not necessarily independent.

Question 4

Describe an experiment to determine whether the tomato you just bought from the grocery store is genetically modified. Show sample positive results.

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Question 5

The results of nuclear transplantation experiments in Xenopus laevis by John Gurdon and co-workers established the basic principle that

Accepted Answer

A)  cell differentiation depends on changes in the expression not content of the genome. 
B)  cell differentiation depends on changes in the content not expression of the genome. 
C)  cell differentiation depends on changes in both the expression and content of the genome. 
D)  cloning by nuclear transfer is only possible in amphibians.

Question 6

Discuss some of the pros and cons of using genetically modified nonhuman primates in experimental medicine.

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Question 7

Will a cloned calico cat have the exactly the same pattern of orange and black patches on her coat compare with her calico donor? Explain your answer.

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Question 8

Eduardo Kac the transgenic artist produced which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mickey the GFP mouse 
B)  A sculpture of the first transgenic rat-sized mouse 
C)  Alba the GFP bunny 
D)  A photo montage of pronuclear microinjection

Question 9

What information did the study of crown gall disease provide that was critical for plant genetic engineering?

Accepted Answer

A)  Understanding the role of plant hormones in growth promotion. 
B)  Knowledge of plant tumor-inducing genes. 
C)  Understanding the role of opine synthesis enzymes in tumor progression. 
D)  Discovery of a plasmid that introduces virulence genes into plants.

Question 10

When making a mouse by gene targeting

Accepted Answer

A)  there is random integration of the transgene into the embryonic genome. 
B)  there is disruption or mutation of a targeted gene in the embryonic genome. 
C)  the resulting mice are genetically identical to the donor nucleus. 
D)  the integration event into the embryonic genome usually occurs by nonhomologousrecombination.

Question 11

Describe the method for creating a knockout mouse by gene targeting. Explain the importance of selectable marker genes in this procedure. What information can a knockout mouse provide?

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Question 12

Which is not a method by which one can introduce foreign DNA into a plant cell?

Accepted Answer

A)  calcium chloride treatment followed by heat shock 
B)  infection with a specific bacterium 
C)  microballistic "gene gun" 
D)  electroporation

Question 13

Which of the following is not a suspected reason for the inefficiency/poor outcomes of reproductive cloning?

Accepted Answer

A)  inefficient reprogramming 
B)  premature terminal differentiation in the developing embryo 
C)  telomere length 
D)  chromosome missegregation during early embryonic divisions

Question 14

When cloning an organism by nuclear transfer

Accepted Answer

A)  there is random integration of a transgene into the recipient cell's nuclear genome. 
B)  there is disruption or mutation of a targeted gene in the resulting organism. 
C)  the resulting organism is genetically identical to only the donor nucleus and not the recipient cell's nucleus. 
D)  the cytoplasm of the donor cell is transferred to the recipient cell.

Question 15

Gene knockouts often result in embryonic lethality. What strategy do investigators often use to make it possible to study a gene's role later in development?

Accepted Answer

A)  Gene knockout using an inducible tetracycline resistance gene. 
B)  Use of embryonic stem cells from a strain of mice with brown fur and a blastocyst from astrain of mice with black fur. 
C)  Implantation of embryos into a pseudopregnant female. 
D)  Inducible Cre/Lox system for site-specific recombination.

Question 16

Less than 1% of all nuclear transfers from adult differentiated cells result in normal-appearing cloned offspring. Give possible explanations for this lack of efficiency.

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Question 17

You have created a strain of knockout mice. Describe an experiment to confirm that the mice lack expression of the targeted gene at the level of mRNA expression. Show sample positive results.

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Question 18

You are trying to make a transgenic mouse but there is very poor survivorship of the embryos after introduction of the foreign gene by pronuclear injection. Describe a method you could use to get around this problem.

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Exam 15: Genetically Modified Organisms: Use in Basic and Applied Research