Biotechnology and its Applications — BIOLOGY STD 12 Science — Question
Bihar BoardEnglish MediumSTD 12 ScienceBIOLOGYBiotechnology and its Applications5 Marks
Question
How have pest-resistant plants been produced using biotechnology? Explain.
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Answer
Pest resistant plants:
A nematode Meloidegyne incognitia infects the roots of tobacco plants which reduces the production of tobacco.
It can be prevented by using RNA interference (RNAi) process which is checked by silencing of specific mRNA due to a complementary dsRNA.
dsRNA binds and prevents translation of the mRNA (silencing).
By using Agrobacterium vectors, nematode-specific genes were introduced into the host plants which produce both sense and anti-sense RNA in the host cells.
These two RNAs are complementary to each other and form a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) that initiates RNAi and hence silence the specific mRNA of the nematode.
The parasite cannot survive in the transgenic host, so protects the plants from pests.
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