Deck 30: Genetically Modified Foods

Question 1

Critics of GM foods often cite the _______ as reason to be skeptical of the safety of GM foods.

A)the in depth testing of DNA that makes it through the food refinement process
B)the extreme governmental oversight of GM food production
C)fact that most GM foods are not directly consumed by humans
D)vast number of studies conducted on the consumption of GM foods

Answer 1

fact that most GM foods are not directly consumed by humans

Question 2

Gene- edited organisms are seeing much less regulatory oversight than transgenic organisms.Why is this the case?

A)Transgenic organisms are more complicated and require more testing.
B)The gene- edited organisms have no foreign DNA in them and do not fall under current regulatory statutes.
C)Transgenic organisms are simpler than gene- edited organisms and have more regulations because of it.
D)The gene- edited organisms are safer.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

GM plants that are in various developmental pipelines include those that are_______ .

A)tolerant of increased salinity
B)incapable of recombination
C)tolerant of heavy metals
D)tolerant of radiation exposure

Answer 3

tolerant of increased salinity

Question 4

The use of beta- glucuronidase GUSin the generation of Roundup- Ready soybeans is an example of a _______ .

A)herbicide resistance
B)negative marker
C)positive marker
D)agrobacterium resistance

Question 5

Predict the phenotype of the following gene construct if it is successfully transfected into plant cells.Promoter- GUS- PFK1

A)white precipitate
B)green precipitate
C)no precipitate
D)blue precipitate

Question 6

The future of GM organisms is encouraging.A project is underway to produce a GM chicken that is incapable of _______.

A)spreading avian influenza
B)contracting avian influenza
C)reproducing but containing twice as much breast meat
D)regulating the number of eggs laid

Question 7

GM foods are controversial for many reasons.Which of the following does not represent a controversy between advocates and critics of GM foods?

A)GM foods increase yields on farm land.
B)GM foods cause disease in consumers.
C)GM foods have an unknown impact on consumers.
D)GM foods have an unknown impact on the environment.

Question 8

What is a major concern surrounding GMOs that critics cite as an argument against GMOs?

A)They could escape containment and pollute other gene pools.
B)They could escape containment and breed with non- GMOs and create unregulated hybrids.
C)They could escape containment and outcompete non- GMOs resulting in extinction of the GMO.
D)They could escape containment and produce even more useful genetic variants.

Question 9

Describe the difference between genetically modified GM food and foods that are selectively breed for over centuries.

Question 10

Bt crops are an insect- resistant GM plant.Bt crops are used mainly because the cry proteins,which confer the insecticidal properties,are shown to _______.

A)have few negative effects on humans
B)only target a few pest species
C)break down slowly in sunlight
D)pollute the ground water

Question 11

Why is the cassava plant difficult to engineer without the help of modern biotechnology?

A)The plant has a very low mutation rate.
B)The plant is long lived making selective breeding ineffective.
C)The plant is integral to African agriculture and is already optimized.
D)The plant does not undergo recombination events,which limits genetic drift.

Question 12

When GMOs are generated through the transfer of genetic material across species,the GMO is said to be_______ .

A)cisgenic
B)transgenic
C)exogenic
D)isogenic

Question 13

Current methods used in the generation of GM plants are still in development.The chance of a productive GM plant being generated by biolistic methods is dependent on_______ .

A)in vitro cells taking up DNA- coated gold beads
B)integration of the Ti plasmid
C)random mutations making a proper promoter
D)being infected by a particular bacterium

Question 14

Selection of a successfully transformed plant cell requires several steps including growth in a selective media,checking for the gene of interest,and checking for phenotype.Propose a method of detecting a transfected gene's presence in a developing organism.

Question 15

Which method would best meet the need in generating GM plants if food crops were threatened by invasive insect species?

A)CRSPR- cas
B)agrobacterium- mediated technology
C)biolistic methods
D)selective breeding

Question 16

GM foods are considered safe by advocates who cite _ _.

A)20 years of consumption with no reliable correlation to disease or adverse effects
B)the GM food is exactly the same as the non- GM food
C)the lack of reliable data due to relaxed governmental oversight
D)robust toxicity testing that is done in humans shows no adverse effects

Question 17

Genetic modification of rice to generate beta- carotene in the endosperm has great potential to alleviate vitamin A deficiency in third- world countries.However,there is still much controversy surrounding its growth. Provide supporting arguments for the planting and consumption of Golden Rice 2.

Question 18

Why should GM foods be considered on a case- by- case basis instead of making general statements about all GM foods?

Question 19

The use of a positive selection marker in the development of Golden Rice 2 allowed the transgenic plants to grow on_______ ,which is usually unusable by plants.

A)glucose 6- phosphate
B)xylose 6- phosphate
C)fructose 6- phosphate
D)mannose 6- phosphate

Question 20

Describe how genetically modifying plants could provide farmers with a boost in productivity of their crops.