A graduate student is trying to isolate bacterial mRNA for an enzyme that will degrade trinitrotoluene (TNT). She's frustrated to find that the enzyme isn't produced when the bacterium in question is grown on nutrient agar. What might she do to solve the problem and obtain the mRNA?
A) Add nitrogen and toluene to the agar which will drive up synthesis of TNT, leading to production of the mRNA the student is looking for.
B) Add TNT to the agar-this will drive synthesis of the enzyme to degrade it, leading to production of the mRNA the student is looking for.
C) Remove glucose from the agar-this will cause the bacteria to shift to other compounds for their energy purposes.
D) Remove nitrogen and toluene from the agar which will lead to driving up synthesis of TNT, leading to production of the mRNA the student is looking for.
E) Remove TNT from the nutrient agar; it acts as an inhibitor of all microbial growth, and prevents the bacteria from synthesizing any enzymes at all.

Question

A graduate student is trying to isolate bacterial mRNA for an enzyme that will degrade trinitrotoluene (TNT). She's frustrated to find that the enzyme isn't produced when the bacterium in question is grown on nutrient agar. What might she do to solve the problem and obtain the mRNA?
A) Add nitrogen and toluene to the agar which will drive up synthesis of TNT, leading to production of the mRNA the student is looking for.
B) Add TNT to the agar-this will drive synthesis of the enzyme to degrade it, leading to production of the mRNA the student is looking for.
C) Remove glucose from the agar-this will cause the bacteria to shift to other compounds for their energy purposes.
D) Remove nitrogen and toluene from the agar which will lead to driving up synthesis of TNT, leading to production of the mRNA the student is looking for.
E) Remove TNT from the nutrient agar; it acts as an inhibitor of all microbial growth, and prevents the bacteria from synthesizing any enzymes at all.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Adding a small amount of the substrate (TNT) to the nutrient agar will induce the synthesis of the enzyme responsible for degrading it. This will lead to the production of the mRNA that the student is looking for.

A Graduate Student Is Trying to Isolate Bacterial MRNA for an Enzyme