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Plant viruses are a major problem for farmers growing crops - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 40 - 2017 - Paper 1
Question 40
Plant viruses are a major problem for farmers growing crops. A particular plant virus can infect many different plant species. Scientists are trialling a spray treat... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Plant viruses are a major problem for farmers growing crops - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 40 - 2017 - Paper 1
Step 1
dsRNA would have a nucleotide sequence complementary to a section of DNA nucleotides in the tobacco plants.
Answer
This statement is true because dsRNA operates by base pairing with the viral RNA, and its sequence needs to match a corresponding sequence in the tobacco plant's DNA for effective interference.
Step 2
dsRNA would silence a gene from the virus by initiating changes that prevent translation of the viral gene.
Answer
This statement is correct. The role of dsRNA is to induce RNA interference, which effectively inhibits the translation of viral proteins, preventing the virus from replicating.
Step 3
spray treatment would be effective only on tobacco plants and not on other plant species.
Answer
This statement is misleading. The specificity of the dsRNA typically applies to the virus it targets, but the applicability of the treatment could extend to other plant species depending on the viral strain.
Step 4