Previous Year Questions

QUESTION ID:2

The following statements are being made about the archaeal cell wall/membrane:

A. Archaeal cell walls could stain Gram +ve or Gram -ve depending on the genus

B. Archaea are characterized by Gram +ve staining of the cell wall

C. Archaeal cell walls are susceptible to degradation by lysozyme

D. Archaeal cell membranes possess branch chain hydrocarbons linked to glycerol by ether links

Which of the following combinations of statements represents all correct statements?

QUESTION ID:3

A researcher intends to stimulate neurons via glutamate receptors in medial septum of an experimental animal. The following apparatus/

instruments are available in the laboratory:

A. Stereotaxic apparatus

B. Slow perfusion pump

C. Microcannula

D. Radiofrequency lesion maker

E. Electrical stimulator

F. Nichrome coated bipolar steel electrode

Which one of the following options contains all the correct items required for the experiment?

QUESTION ID:4

QUESTION ID:5

The figure below shows a gene duplication event followed by a divergence event in species 1 and 2.

Based on the details given above determine what is represented by A and B

QUESTION ID:6

In the two graphs given below, what do a, b and c refer to

QUESTION ID:7

Expression of gene 'A' is a regulated by Mg2 + The expression of gene 'A' in untreated (UN) and cells treated with Mg2 + (T) was analysed by Northern hybridization (N) and Western blotting (W). A similar exercise was done for a mutant (Mut) which was isolated with a 6 bp deletion in 5'UTR of the transcript of gene 'A'. The following are summary of four possible results that are hypothesized to be obtained

UN = Untreated Cells, WT = Wild type cells, T = Cells treated with Mg2 +, Mut = Cell with mutation

in gene A, N = Northern hybridization, W = Western blotting

If the regulation of gene 'A' expression is controlled ONLY at the level of translation, which of the above profile/s are possible correct representation of the experimental results.

QUESTION ID:8

The electrical response of the afferent nerve terminal in a Pacinian corpuscle (PC), after application of different grades of pressure, are proposed in the following statements:

A. A non-propagated depolarizing potential or receptor potential is elicited when small magnitude of pressure is applied to PC.

B. The magnitude of receptor potential is increased as the pressure to PC is increased.

C. An action potential is generated when receptor potential attains a critical value.

D. The receptor potential shows all-or-none response.

E. The receptor potential is not a graded potential.

Choose the option with both INCORRECT statements:

QUESTION ID:9

PR proteins play important role during plantpathogen interactions. Column X represents some of the PR family proteins and column Y represents their main properties. 

The correct match of column X with the property in column Y is

QUESTION ID:10

Three strains of pathogenic bacteria were found to express proteins mimicking human proteins associated with complement pathway. Bacterium 'X' expressed on its surface proteins mimicking Decay Accelerating Factor {OAF) and Complement Receptor 1 (CR1). Bacterium 'Y' secreted a protein that mimicked protein of humans and bacterium Z secreted protein that mimicked Factor I activity. Given below are statements on the possible effect of complement activation on these pathogenic bacteria. Select the INCORRECT statement

QUESTION ID:11

The continued expression of engrailed and wingless is maintained by interactions between the Engrailed- and Wingless-expressing cells. The following statements are given towards the initiation of the cascade of events that occur for this interaction:

B. The wingless gene is expressed in those cells that contain high concentration of either Even skipped or Fushi tarazu.

C. Wingless is a secreted protein, diffuses to the surrounding, binds with the Frizzled and Lrpo receptor proteins and activates engrailed gene via Armadillo.

 D. Hedgehog protein activates the transcription of engrailed and also activates its own transcription.

E. Hedgehog protein diffuses from cells and binds to Patched receptor on neighbouring cells and enables transcription of wingless gene.

Which combination of above statements correctly represent the maintenance of engrailed and wingless expression?

QUESTION ID:12

For an exponentially growing culture of bacteria where No is the initial population number and N t is the population number at time t, the mean growth rate constant (K) is expressed as

QUESTION ID:13

The following information refers to ecological interactions.

Which one of the following options represents the correct match between column X and column Y?

QUESTION ID:14

In C. elegans, activation of the CED-3 and CED-4 proteins are essential for the apoptosis pathway. In addition, gain-of-function mutations in the ced-9 gene cause its protein to be made in cells that would normally die, resulting in survival of those cells. Given these facts, which one of the following diagrams correctly represents a cell death pathway? 

QUESTION ID:15

The three domain classification of life proposed by Carl Woese divides life forms on the basis of

QUESTION ID:16

Given below are statements related to various molecular techniques

A. During molecular cloning of DNA fragments, a vector and insert molecule digested with two different enzymes can never be ligated with each other.

B. Only 3'~5' exonucleases and not 5'~3'exonucleases can be used for digesting nucleic acids to generate blunt-ended fragments for cloning.

C. In Sanger's dideoxy sequencing method, each reaction consists of a mixture of three dNTPs and one ddNTP.

D. Self-ligation of a vector with compatible ends can be prevented by treatment with alkaline phosphatase.

Which one of the following options represents a combination of correct statements?

QUESTION ID:17

The NPR1 (non-expresser of pathogenesisrelated genes 1) and two SA receptors (NPR3 and NPR4) are known to play important role in SA mediated plant defense. The following statements were made regarding their role in infected and non-infected tissues of the plants:

A. In the infected tissue, SA binds to NPR3 and induces degradation of NPR1 to promote cell death.

B. In the infected tissue, SA binds to NPR4 and blocks the degradation of NPR1 to promote cell death.

C. In the non-infected tissue, SA binds to NPR4 and blocks the degradation of NPR1 to favour cell survival.

D. In the non-infected tissue, SA binds to NPR3 and promotes degradation of NPR1 to favour cell survival.

Which one of the following combination of statements is correct?

QUESTION ID:18

The statements given below refer to the lambda phage.

A. Clear plaques are formed in Q mutants

B. No plaques are formed in nut mutants

C. Clear plaques are formed in ell mutants

D. Turbid plaques are formed in integrase mutants

E. Clear plaques are formed in P mutants

F. No plaques are formed inc/ mutants

Which of the following combination of statements is correct?

QUESTION ID:19

Distance matrix of five species A to E is given below. 

Which one of the following topologies represents the accurate species relationships among species A to E if UPGMA clustering method is used for the given data?

QUESTION ID:20

Pathogens continuously evolve strategies to evade host immune responses. For each of the following evasion strategies (listed in column X) match the pathogen (listed in column Y) which adopts it:

Choose the correct match

QUESTION ID:21

Creationism is rejected by evolutionary biologists because

QUESTION ID:22

Given below are proposed analogous structures among organisms.

A. wings of birds and bats

B. wings of bats and tetrapod digits

C. tendrils of vitis and tendrils of pumpkin

D. tubers of potatoes and sweet potatoes

E. fins of fish and flippers of a whale

Which one of the following options correctly states the analogous structures?

QUESTION ID:23

A large patch of forested area was devastated by raging fires. After some years, the area was found to recover its species. Which one of the following options best describes the process of re-establishment in the area?

QUESTION ID:24

Given below are four sentences with blanks (labelled X, Y, Z and L). A. RNA Poll transcribes X B. miRNA genes are transcribed by __ v __ . C. The RNA polymerase found only in plants is z D. tasiRNAs are synthesized by L Which one of the following options would present the combination of all terms (in the order X, Y, Z and L) to complete the above sentences correctly

QUESTION ID:25

To study the effect of temperature on seed germination, 16 seeds of a plant species were selected for an experiment. A total of four temperature treatments were provided to sets of four seeds to study the onset of germination.

What would be the within, between and total degrees of freedom, respectively, in an analysis of variance?

QUESTION ID:26

Several marine organism release their gametes into the environment, where sperm attraction and subsequent events lead to successful fertilization. With reference to sea urchins, which one of the following statements is NOT true?

QUESTION ID:27

Kallmann syndrome generally exhibits gonadal dysfunctions in males. Following statements are made relating to such males.

A. They mostly suffer from hypergonadism

B. They mostly suffer from hypogonadism

C. They have higher level of circulating gonadotropins

D. They have lower level of circulating gonadotropins

Which one of the following combinations of statements is correct?

QUESTION ID:28

Calvin-Benson cycle is divided into three phases, namely carboxylation, reduction and regeneration. The following statements are related to the three phases of Calvin-Benson cycle:

A. The product of light reaction, ATP and NADPH is utilized in the carboxylation phase.

B. Six molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate is converted into six molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate in the reduction phase.

C. The action of aldolase enzyme for the production of fructose 1, 6-bisphosphate takes place in reduction phase.

D. Formation of seven carbon compound, sedoheptulose-7-phosphate takes place in the regeneration phase.

Which one of the following combinations is correct?

QUESTION ID:29

Which one of the following statements is true with regard to drug metabolism?

QUESTION ID:30

Curled wing (cu), ebony body colour( e) and sepia eye (se) are three recessive mutations that occur in fruit flies. The loci for these mutations have been mapped and they are separated by the following hypothetical map distances:

The interference between these genes is 0.4. A mutant cu e se fly was crossed with a homozygous wild type fly. The resulting F1 females were test crossed that produced 1800 progeny. What number of flies in each phenotype class is likely to be obtained in the progeny of the test cross?

QUESTION ID:31

In some sheep, horns are produced by an autosomal allele, 'H', that is dominant in males and recessive in females. WW individuals are hornless. A horned female is crossed with a hornless male. One of the resulting F1 females is crossed with a hornless male. What proportion of the male and female progeny of F1 will have horns?

QUESTION ID:32

The following statements are made with reference to the replication of DNA.

A. The eukaryotic counterpart of the bacterial (Jclamp protein is proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)

B. Mutation inactivating one of the subunits of the Mcm 2-7 complex negatively affects the initiation of DNA replication in eukaryotes, but has no effect on elongation of the replication fork

C. All DNA polymerases responsible for replicating the eukaryotic genome catalyze DNA chain extension in a DNA templatedependent manner.

D. The FENI protein plays a role in the synthesis of the lagging strand during DNA replication as well as in base excision repair

Which one of the following options represents INCORRECT statement(s)?

QUESTION ID:33

The figure below represents a profile of DNA markers in two parents {P1 and P2), progeny {Fl) from a cross between P1 and P2 and that of gametes produced from Fl. Eight different patterns {DH1 to DHS) were observed in case of gametes. The numbers below, DH1 to DHS indicate the number of individuals observed in each case 

Based on the above observations, the following statements were made:

A. Markers 'b' and 'f' are likely to be allelic in nature

B. Markers 'c' and 'd' are linked in trans with a map distance of 24 eM

C. Marker 'b' assorts independently from marker  'c'

Which one of the following have a combination of all correct statements?

QUESTION ID:34

The following statements are related to transcription in bacterial eukaryotes.

A. During concurrent promoter sequence recognition and melting, melting commences

with base flipping where two bases are flipped out into pockets of the primary sigma factor

B. Binding of a-amanitin to RNA polymerase II permits entry of nucleotides into RNA pol II active site and synthesis of RNA, but prevents translocation

C. RNA polymerase I can use upstream promoters with 3 consensus sequences, as well as internal promoters having a bipartite structure

D. FACT is associated with RNA polymerase during transcriptional elongation and helps displace histone octomers during transcription

Which of the following combinations of statements represents all correct statements?

QUESTION ID:35

For a given immunological application [column X], select the type of antibody [column Y] that should be used·

Choose the option with correct matches between terms of Columns X and Y.

QUESTION ID:36

Following are certain statements regarding nitrogen uptake and assimilation by plants:

A. Plant roots can take up nitrogen in the form of NO₃ or NH₄

B. NH4 taken up by plants can be directly assimilated into amino acids.

C. Amino acids are synthesized exclusively in plastids and chloroplast of roots and leaves, respectively.

D. N03 can be stored in vacuole of both, roots and leaves.

Which one of the following combinations is correct?

QUESTION ID:37

The following statements were made regarding the role of protein modifications

A. Attachment of acetyl groups to the amino termini of proteins makes it more resistant to degradation.

B. Attachment of hydroxyl groups to proline residues stabilizes fibres of newly synthesized collagen

C. Addition of sugars (glycosylation) makes protein more hydrophilic enabling protein protein interactions

D. Addition of sugars (glycosylation) makes protein more hydrophobic enabling protein folding

Which one of the following combinations represents all correct statements?

QUESTION ID:38

The table below lists cell cycle regulatory proteins and their known functions

Which one of the following options represents the correct match between cell cycle regulatory proteins with their known functions?

QUESTION ID:39

Suresh was bitten by a poisonous snake and was immediately treated with anti-venom human immunoglobulin and was saved. A year later he was bitten by the same type of snake second time. Predict his response to the venom from second bite from the following:

QUESTION ID:40

The following statements were made to describe the role of Gibbs free energy

A. Reaction can take place spontaneously if dG is negative

B. Reaction can take place spontaneously if dG is positive

C. dG provides no information about the rate of a reaction

D. dG estimation provides the rate of a reaction.

Which one of the following represents all correct statements?

QUESTION ID:41

Dreisch performed the "pressure plate experiment" to alter the distribution of nuclei in a 8-cell sea urchin embryo. He obtained normal larvae from these embryos. Following possible conclusions could be drawn:

A. Prospective potency of the blastomeres is less than the actual prospective fate.

B. Sea urchin embryo is a "harmonious equipotential system" implying that cell interaction is critical for normal development.

C. Prospective potency of the blastomere is greater than the actual prospective fate.

D. Prospective potency of the blastomere is equal to the prospective fate.

Which one of the following combinations of statements represents the correct inference from the experiment?

QUESTION ID:42

The discharge patterns in a single afferent nerve fibre from carotid sinus at various levels of mean arterial pressure (MAP) are plotted against changes in aortic pressure with time in the following figure:

The following statements were proposed from the above figure:

A. Baroreceptors are more sensitive to phasic change of aortic pressure at normal MAP

B. The baroreceptor firing rate is reduced at lower MAP than in normal MAP

C. The phasic change in baroreceptor fibre is less prominent at lower MAP

D. A burst of action potentials appear in a single baroreceptor fibre during diastole at normal MAP

E. The discharge of baroreceptors even extends to systole at higher MAP

Choose the option with both CORRECT statements:

QUESTION ID:43

Co-existence of several species of birds in an area is possible under the following conditions

QUESTION ID:44

An antigen was injected into a mouse. Macrophages and antigen primed T H cells were isolated from this mouse to perform the following in vitro experiments:

B. Macrophages were treated with paraformaldehyde first and then treated with the antigen for an hour. These macrophages were then incubated with T H cells.

C. Macrophages were treated with paraformaldehyde first then treated with the digested (proteolytically cleaved) antigen for an hour. These macrophages were then incubated with T H cells.

D. Macrophages were treated with the antigen for an hour and then treated with paraformaldehyde. These macrophages were then incubated with T H cells.

Which of the above experiments would lead to T H cells proliferation?

QUESTION ID:45

A researcher developed a mutant of Arabidopsis plant where the function of SLEEPY 1 (SLY1) containing SCF complex has been disrupted. Which one of the following statements is INCORRECT in the developed mutant in relation to gibberellic acid (GA) signal transduction?

QUESTION ID:46

Given below is a list of plant species and reproductive forms·

Which one of the following options correctly matches all the given plant species with their reproductive forms?

QUESTION ID:47

The mammalian protein HP1 plays a major role in heterochromati-nization and silencing. The following mutations are proposed to negatively impact HP1 function.

A. Mutation inactivating the deacetylase that targets H3K14Ac

B. Mutation inactivating HP1 bromo-domain

C. Mutation inactivating HP1 chromo-domain

D. Mutation inactivating the KMTlA methyltransferase whose target site is H3K9

Which one of the following combinations represents all correct statements?

QUESTION ID:48

Body weight of rabbits is determined by pairs of alleles at two loci, 'a' and 'b', that are additive and equal in their effects. Rabbits with genotype a- a- b- b- have average 1 kg body weight, whereas individuals with genotype a+ a+ b+ b+ have animals that average 3.4 kg in weight. A male rabbit with a- a- b- b- is crossed with a female of genotype a+ a+ b+ b+. What will be predicted average weight of F1 progeny of this cross?

QUESTION ID:49

Following are the statements which explain why patients with a-linked hyper-lgM syndrome express normal genes for other antibody subtypes but fail to produce lgG, lgA, or lgE:

A. CD40 expressed on B cells is defective

B. CD40L mediates binding of B-cells to T-cells and sends co-stimulatory signals to the B-cells for class switching

C. Without CD40 on macrophage, class switching does not occur

D. CD40L mediates binding of B-cells to macrophages and sends co-stimulatory signals to the B-cells for class switching.

Select the option with correct combination.

QUESTION ID:50

Dark grown Arabidopsis seedlings when exposed to ethylene gas shows typical triple response.

Following are certain statements regarding the triple response:

A. A dominant ethylene receptor mutant will not show triple response in the presence of ethylene.

B. Tightening of apical hook is one of the features of triple response.

C. Loss of function of multiple receptors will show triple response even in the absence of ethylene.

D. Increase in hypocotyl length is a feature of triple response.

Which one of the following combinations is correct?

QUESTION ID:51

Gene therapy is a promising tool for addressing several diseases in humans. With respect to the above, which one of the following statements is FALSE?

QUESTION ID:52

Select the correct statement. The bark of a woody plant is collectively made up of the following tissues:

QUESTION ID:53

A field biologist is sampling tree species in a forest area to estimate tree diversity. What method can be employed to decide if his sampling effort is adequate to estimate the tree diversity in the area?

QUESTION ID:54

Given below are some terms in column A and their corresponding properties/related terms in column B 

Which one of the following options represents the most appropriate match between all terms of column A and B?

QUESTION ID:55

The following statements describe the propensity and role of amino acids in the secondary structure of proteins

A. Alanine has a high frequency of occurrence in a-helices

B. Proline has a high frequency of occurrence in a-helices

C. The x 1 does not affect the helix propensity of serine, threonine and valine

D. Peptide bonds involving 'N' of proline may display cis-trans isomerism

Choose the correct combination.

QUESTION ID:56

Given below are a few statements related to biological principles and/or techniques:

A. Genetic diversity plays an important role in the identification of combiners for heterosis breeding

B. Genotyping by sequencing (GBS) can be used to identify allelic diversity but is not useful for construction of linkage maps.

C. Genome editing by sequence specific nucleases (SSNS) in the presence of guide RNAs would result in NHEJ-mediated knock outs and loss of function mutations.

D. In a comparison of synteny and colinearity between diploid and polyploid plant genomes, colinearity is high but synteny is low.

Which one of the following options represents all correct statements?

QUESTION ID:57

A species of plant (species 1) is diploid (2n = 6) with chromosomes AABBCC and a related species (species 2) is also diploid {2n = 4) with chromosomes PPQQ. The following statements were given by students regarding the chromosome numbers involving these plant species:

A. Autotriploid of species 1 will have 12 chromosomes

B. Allotetraploid involving species 1 and 2 will have 16 chromosomes

C. A monosomy in species 1 will generate 5 chromosomes

D. A double trisomy in species 1 will generate 8 chromosomes

E. A nullisomy in species 2 will generate 2 chromosomes

The combination of statements with all correct answers is: