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 trialing a spray treatm... 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.
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Answer
This statement is incorrect because the dsRNA is designed to match viral RNA sequences, not the tobacco plant's DNA.
Step 2
dsRNA would silence a gene from the virus by initiating changes that prevent translation of the viral gene.
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Answer
This statement is correct. The dsRNA interferes with the viral RNA, thus preventing the translation of viral proteins and effectively silencing the viral gene.
Step 3
Spray treatment would be effective only on tobacco plants and not on other plant species.
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Answer
This statement is likely incorrect since the mechanism by which dsRNA function occurs could also potentially work in other plant species affected by the virus, depending on their genetic similarity to tobacco.
Step 4
Sprayed tobacco plants would be regarded as transgenic organisms.
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Answer
This statement is incorrect. The process involves silencing a gene and does not involve the direct alteration of the plant's DNA, which is required for an organism to be classified as transgenic.
