Deck 12: Molecular Diagnostic Techniques

Question 1

What is the basis of strand displacement amplification?

A) Two different primers bind to the same strand of DNA.
B) Two different primers each bind to complementary strands of DNA.
C) Multiple primers bind to fragmented DNA targets.
D) Primers are joined together.

Answer 1

Two different primers bind to the same strand of DNA.

Question 2

Which type of RNA is used to directly translate the DNA code into making functional proteins?

A) Transfer RNA
B) Ribosomal RNA
C) Messenger RNA
D) Probe RNA

Answer 2

Messenger RNA

Question 3

The individual nucleotides along a single strand of DNA are held together by:

A) phosphodiester bonds.
B) disulfide bonds.
C) hydrogen bonds.
D) peptide bonds.

Answer 3

phosphodiester bonds.

Question 4

Steps in a Southern blot include which of the following?

A) Ligation of DNA probes by a DNA ligase
B) Gel electrophoresis followed by transfer of the pattern to a membrane
C) Denaturation of DNA followed by annealing of primers and bases
D) Creation of a nick in a DNA strand followed by amplification

Question 5

Use of microarrays consisting of either DNA or RNA to identify an unknown nucleic acid best describes:

A) in situ hybridization.
B) polymerase chain reaction.
C) DNA chip technology.
D) strand displacement amplification.

Question 6

What is meant by semiconservative replication of DNA?

A) Only part of the molecule is reproduced at one time.
B) Each strand is the template for another strand.
C) One copy is the same, and another copy is different.
D) DNA uses RNA to make new copies.

Question 7

Select the reaction characterized by amplification of a specific region of a DNA strand through denaturing and annealing.

A) Signal amplification
B) Polymerase chain reaction
C) Solution hybridization
D) Ligase chain reaction

Question 8

In a ligase chain reaction:

A) target sequences are joined together.
B) primers are joined together.
C) targets sequences are cleaved.
D) primer sequences are cleaved.

Question 9

Select the probe sequence that will hybridize to the following nucleic acid sequence: C G A T A T T G T C

A) T A G T A C A A G A
B) C G A T A T T G T C
C) G T C A A G A C C T
D) G C T A T A A C A G

Question 10

In a polymerase chain reaction,the strand length of the amplicons is determined by the:

A) number of cycles.
B) percentage of cycle time spent in the extension step.
C) primer sequences.
D) total cycle time.

Question 11

In a polymerase chain reaction,the threshold cycle represents:

A) the minimum amount of target that can be amplified.
B) an indication of the original amount of target in the sample.
C) the maximum number of cycles that can be carried out before the amplicons saturate the solution.
D) the degree of complementarity between the primers and the target.

Question 12

How would you interpret results of DNA restriction analysis by gel electrophoresis if there was a difference in one band?

A) The samples are the same.
B) The samples are not identical.
C) Gel electrophoresis should be repeated.
D) The wrong buffer was used in electrophoresis.

Question 13

What process confers specificity in molecular biology methods?

A) Amplification
B) Polymorphism
C) Strand cleavage
D) Hybridization

Question 14

A short strand of DNA or RNA used to detect an unknown nucleic acid in a patient specimen best describes a:

A) nucleic acid probe.
B) restriction enzyme.
C) primer.
D) restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Question 15

Select the strand of RNA that is complementary to this single strand of DNA: A T T A G C C G T A T

A) T A A T C G G C A T A
B) U A A U C G G C U A U
C) T U U T C G G C A U A
D) T A A T U G G U A T A

Question 16

Complementary strands of the DNA are held together by:

A) phosphodiester bonds.
B) disulfide bonds.
C) hydrogen bonds.
D) peptide bonds.

Question 17

For a probe to hybridize to the target,which condition must be met?

A) The target must be double-stranded.
B) The target can only be RNA.
C) The target must have the same bases.
D) The target must have complementary bases.

Question 18

The best method for detecting multiple genotypes of the same virus is:

A) pyrosequencing.
B) ligase chain reaction.
C) strand displacement amplification.
D) branched DNA amplification.

Question 19

In DNA sequencing,what is the purpose of the dideoxynucleotide bases?

A) To enhance synthesis of DNA
B) To stop growth of a DNA chain at a certain point
C) To make certain that only one strand of DNA is amplified
D) To create restriction fragment length polymorphisms

Question 20

In which technique is the signal amplified instead of the target DNA?

A) Branched DNA amplification
B) Polymerase chain reaction
C) Transcription-mediated amplification
D) Solution hybridization

Question 21

DNA replication requires which enzymes?

A) DNA polymerase and primase
B) Reverse transcriptase and DNA polymerase
C) Nuclease and primase
D) Nuclease and DNA polymerase

Question 22

The common characteristic of transcription-mediated amplification and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction is that both:

A) are isothermal processes.
B) start with an RNA target.
C) use DNA polymerase.
D) generate RNA as the primary product.

Question 23

Next-generation sequencing involves:

A) generating many short sequences from an intact, continuous DNA sequence.
B) generating many short sequences from fragmented DNA.
C) splicing together DNA fragments.
D) adding multiple probes to fragmented DNA.

Question 24

ddNTPs terminate the lengthening of a DNA strand because they lack chemical groups that:

A) allow hydrogen bonding to the template strand.
B) are recognized by DNA polymerase.
C) protect the strand from endonucleases.
D) form phosphodiester bonds in the backbone of the strand.

Question 25

Multiple probes bind to target sequences in:

A) pyrosequencing.
B) ligase chain reaction.
C) strand displacement amplification.
D) branched DNA amplification.

Question 26

Select the method that detects target DNA in intact cells.

A) Polymerase chain reaction
B) Southern blot
C) Solution hybridization
D) Fluorescence in situ hybridization

Question 27

Strand displacement amplification shares which characteristic with polymerase chain reaction?

A) Both are isothermal amplification processes.
B) Both involve an endonuclease.
C) Both involve DNA polymerase.
D) Both result in probe amplification.

Question 28

Which process can be combined with a bead array format enabling detection of 100 different targets in one sample?

A) Branched DNA amplification
B) Transcription-mediated amplification
C) Ligase chain reaction
D) Strand displacement amplification

Question 29

When denatured,DNA is converted from:

A) a double-stranded double helix to a double-stranded linear structure.
B) a double strand to a pair of single strands.
C) DNA to RNA.
D) polymerized strands of nucleic acids to individual nucleic acids.

Question 30

What is the difference between a mutation and a polymorphism?

A) A mutation can exist in a single person; a polymorphism must exist in at least 2% of the population.
B) A mutation involves a single base pair; a polymorphism involves many base pairs.
C) Mutations affect cell function; polymorphisms do not.
D) Mutations do not change DNA structure; polymorphisms distort the helical structure.

Question 31

In the process of translation,the addition of a particular amino acid to a growing protein may be specified by:

A) one specific mRNA nucleotide.
B) only one specific combination of three mRNA nucleotides.
C) one of several specific combinations of three mRNA nucleotides.

Question 32

Sanger chain termination sequencing differs from polymerase chain reaction because:

A) only three nucleotide bases are used.
B) DNA polymerase is not needed.
C) only one primer is used.
D) the process is isothermal.

Question 33

Light is generated when nucleotides are added to a growing strand of DNA in the process of:

A) pyrosequencing.
B) ligase chain reaction.
C) strand displacement amplification.
D) branched DNA amplification.