Question: What is ‘mutagenesis’, as it applies to plants and plant breeding?
Answer Options: It is a process used to make undesirable mutations in weed plants, to weaken them. It can be used to introduce new, beneficial genes to an organism, to create a transgenic organism. It is the inevitable result of excessive pollution in the environment and leads to crop plants that are more sensitive to the effects of climate change. It is the use of radiation or chemical mutagens to speed up the mutation rate in plants, resulting in the formation of new alleles of genes. Correct Answer: It is the use of radiation or chemical mutagens to speed up the mutation rate in plants, resulting in the formation of new alleles of genes.
Question: “Seedless watermelons are typically triploids and thus sterile, meaning they cannot make offspring.” The preceding statement is…
Answer Options: True False Correct Answer: True
Question: “Two methods for getting foreign genes into plant cells are 1) using a gene gun and 2) infection with either a bacterium or a virus.” The preceding statement is…
Answer Options: True False Correct Answer: True
Question: What is Agrobacterium tumefaciens?
Answer Options: It is the virus that caused the Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1800s. It is a plant that naturally makes a herbicide that is used by organic farmers to kill weeds. It is a bacterium found in nature that helps plants grow in poor soils. It is a bacterium that naturally infects plants and can be genetically-modified to deliver foreign genes into plant cells. Correct Answer: It is a bacterium that naturally infects plants and can be genetically-modified to deliver foreign genes into plant cells.
Question: “Scientists can manipulate plant hormone concentrations to make a whole plant out of a few cells. This is useful when only one or a few cells have been genetically-modified, such as when a gene gun has been used to shoot DNA into a leaf.” The preceding statement is…
Answer Options: True False Correct Answer: True
Question: What is the pink bollworm?
Answer Options: A worm that eats corn roots. The larval stage of Red Rooster butterflies. The largest-sized insect that lives in the soil in the United States. An insect pest of cotton. Correct Answer: An insect pest of cotton.
Question: What has been the effect of the pink bollworm eradication program?
Answer Options: It eradicated the pink bollworm in all countries around the globe, causing it to go extinct. It saved farmers money and decreased the amount of insecticides they used. It increased the frustration that farmers in Arizona have with the work done by University of Arizona researchers. It cost more money than it was worth, harming the local economy. Correct Answer: It saved farmers money and decreased the amount of insecticides they used.
Question: How did scientists first make Rainbow Papaya?
Answer Options: The mutagenized papaya plants using radiation. They used a gene gun to transport a piece of DNA from a virus into part of a papaya plant. They injected dyes into papaya seeds then cross-bred the colored plants that grew from those seeds. They cross-bred papaya plants that had some natural resistance to aphids and viruses then screened for the offspring that were most resistant. Correct Answer: They used a gene gun to transport a piece of DNA from a virus into part of a papaya plant.
Question: Where does most genetically-modified (GMO) corn and soybeans end up in the United States?
Answer Options: We don’t know, because the government does not regulate or track GMOs. Most GMO corn is sold as fresh sweetcorn for human consumption and most GMO soybeans end up in edamame (soybeans in their pod) and tofu sold to consumers. Most GMO corn is used to make bioethanol and most GMO soybeans end up in dog food as a protein source. Most GMO corn and soybeans are fed to animals other than humans or are used in processed foods. Correct Answer: Most GMO corn and soybeans are fed to animals other than humans or are used in processed foods.
Question: Which of the following statements about marker-assisted selection is true?
Answer Options: Marker-assisted selection is a tool used to speed up traditional plant breeding and is also known as ‘advanced breeding.’ In marker-assisted selection, all offspring plants are grown to adulthood before their traits are determined by visual inspection. Marker-assisted selection allows breeders to increase the natural variation in wild, domesticated plants. Marker-assisted selection is the process plant breeders use to figure out how best to use CRISPR-based gene editing. Correct Answer: Marker-assisted selection is a tool used to speed up traditional plant breeding and is also known as ‘advanced breeding.’
Question: “Because we know a lot about which tomato genes are responsible for which traits, we can ‘mix and match’ various gene alleles to try to create ‘designer’ tomato plants.” The preceding statement is…
Answer Options: True False Correct Answer: True
Question: “Seed chipping is a way to genetically analyze seeds but is destructive, so we cannot plant the seeds after they have been chipped.” The preceding statement is…
Answer Options: True False Correct Answer: False
Question: Which of the following is a reason that plants are useful in biopharming, as discussed in this course?
Answer Options: Plants have been shown to be the best organisms for producing human proteins. Some of the chemical compounds that plants make naturally are very complex. Using plants to produce pharmaceuticals is relatively expensive. The biopharmed plants can be fed directly to the goats they’re intended for, instead of being fermented first. Correct Answer: Some of the chemical compounds that plants make naturally are very complex.
Question: What was an outcome related to the ProdiGene incident?
Answer Options: It brought some plant breeders international fame, including being invited to The White House to recognize their new lines of plant breeding. It established for the first time that plant breeding and clinical drug studies could be successfully harmonized in GMO crops. It led to more regulation of the plant biopharming industry and a move towards non-food plants as the production organism. It made stock market traders more aware of the value of the company, which raised its share price for 5 consecutive years. Correct Answer: It led to more regulation of the plant biopharming industry and a move towards non-food plants as the production organism.
Question: “Stable expression in tobacco plants is a promising method of biopharming because it allows for the drugs to be easily vaporized.” The preceding statement is…
Answer Options: True False Correct Answer: False
Question: Which of the following is a use/purpose of glyphosate?
Answer Options: It is an essential biomolecule that plants require for growth. It is used on fields of ‘Roundup-ready’ crops to kill weeds. It is used to stimulate fruit and grain production in crops. It is a plant hormone that helps plants grow larger. Correct Answer: It is used on fields of ‘Roundup-ready’ crops to kill weeds.
Question: Which of the following is a reason that plants are useful in biopharming, as discussed in this course?
Answer Options: Plants have been shown to be the best organisms for producing human proteins. Some of the chemical compounds that plants make naturally are very complex. Using plants to produce pharmaceuticals is relatively expensive. The biopharmed plants can be fed directly to the goats they’re intended for, instead of being fermented first. Correct Answer: Some of the chemical compounds that plants make naturally are very complex.
Question: How has the use of Roundup/glyphosate affected the overall use of herbicides on corn, cotton, and soy crops in the United States, as determined by looking at the percent of acres treated with herbicide? [Answer this question based on the graph and information shown in this course.]
Answer Options: Overall herbicide use has gone up only slightly (<10% increase) because even though farmers are using more Roundup/glyphosate, they’re using less of other herbicides. Overall herbicide use has gone down by about 15%, because Roundup/glyphosate has been so effective at eradicating weeds. Overall herbicide use has gone down by about 40%, because of increasing environmental regulations since Roundup/glyphosate was introduced to the market. Overall herbicide use has gone up significantly (>40% increase), because now farmers can spray herbicides on everywhere, instead of just on the weeds. Correct Answer: Overall herbicide use has gone up only slightly (<10% increase) because even though farmers are using more Roundup/glyphosate, they’re using less of other herbicides.
Question: What methods have people used to make herbicide-tolerant canola, as discussed in this course?
Answer Options: Canola is too similar to weed plants to be able to make an effective herbicide-tolerant variety. At least three types of herbicide-tolerant canola are available – transgenic varieties, such as Roundup-ready, a variety made using mutagenesis, and a variety made by gene/genome editing. Canola is naturally herbicide-tolerant, so people have not had to do anything to canola to allow them to use herbicides on canola fields. The only variety of herbicide-tolerant canola that is commercially available is transgenic Roundup-ready canola that is made the same way as Roundup-ready corn and soybeans. Correct Answer: At least three types of herbicide-tolerant canola are available – transgenic varieties, such as Roundup-ready, a variety made using mutagenesis, and a variety made by gene/genome editing.