GATE Sample Paper for Biotechnology

Sample Paper aglase .co

BT: Biotechnology

Q.No. 1 If the nucleotide composition (%) of a viral genome is A = 10, U = 20, C = 40, and G = 30, which
one of the following is this genome?

(A) Double stranded RNA

(B) Single stranded RNA

(C) Single stranded DNA

(D) Double stranded DNA

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 2 Which one of the following amino acids is catalyzed by activated macrophages to produce reactive
nitrogen species?

(A) Arginine

(B) Asparagine

(C) Cysteine

(D) Histidine

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 3 What is the solution of the differential equation $ dy

dx
=
x

y
$ with the initial condition, at x=0, y = 1?

(A) 𝑥2 = 𝑦2 + 1

(B) 𝑦2 = 𝑥2 + 1

(C) 𝑦2 = 2𝑥2 + 1

(D) 𝑥2 – 𝑦2 = 0

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 4 Which of the following are geometric series? P. 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, … Q. 9, 6, 3, 0, -3, -6, … R. 1,
3, 9, 27, 81, … S. 4, -8, 16, -32, 64, …

(A) P and Q only

(B) R and S only

(C) Q and S only

(D) P, Q and R only

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 5 Which one of the following is catabolized during endogenous metabolism in a batch bacterial
cultivation?

(A) internal reserves

(B) extracellular substrates

(C) extracellular products

(D) toxic substrates

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 6 EcoRI restriction sites on a 10kb DNA fragment are shown below.

Upon partial digestion, what are the
lengths (in kb) of all the possible DNA fragments obtained?

(A) 2, 3, 4, 5.6.7, S. and 10

(B) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7

(C) 2, 3, 4, and 7

(D) 2 and 3

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 7 Standard error is

(A) the probability of a type I error in a statistical test

(B) the error in estimating a sample standard deviation

(C) the standard deviation of a variable that follows standard normal distribution

(D) the standard deviation of distribution of sample means

Q.No. 8 The Laplace transform of the function 𝑓(𝑡) = 𝑡2 + 2𝑡 + 1 is

(A) 1

s
3
+
3

s
2
+
1

s

(B) 4

s
3
+
4

s
2
+
1

s

(C) 1

s
3
+
2

s
2
+
1

s

(D) 2

s
3 +
2

s
2 +
1

s

Q.No. 9 In leguminous plants, both the rhizobium genes and the plant genes influence nodulation and
nitrogen fixation. Which one of the following functions is NOT encoded by the host plant genes?

(A) Production of inducers that modify rhizobial cell wall

(B) Production of flavonoid inducers

(C) Establishment of contact between bacteria and legume

(D) Root hair curling

Q.No. 10 DNA synthesis in eukaryotes occurs during which phase of the mitotic cell cycle?

(A) M

(B) G1

(C) S

(D) G0

Q.No. 11 Which one of the following equations represents a one-dimensional wave equation?

(A)
2
∂u 2 ∂ u
= c 2
∂t ∂x

2 2

(B) ∂ u

∂t
2
= c
2 ∂ u

∂x
2

2

(C) ∂ u

∂t
2 = c
2 ∂u
∂x

2 2

(D) ∂ u

∂t
2
+
∂ u

∂x
2
= 0

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 12 5′ capping of mRNA transcripts in eukaryotes involves the following events: P. Addition of GMP
on the 5′ end Q. Removal of γ-phosphate of the triphosphate on first base at the 5′ end R. 5′-5′ linkage
between GMP and the first base at 5′ end S. Addition of methyl group to N7 position of guanine Which one
of the following is the correct sequence of events?

(A) P, Q, R, S

(B) P, R, Q, S

(C) Q, P, R, S

(D) Q, P, S, R

Q.No. 13 The repeat sequence of telomere in humans is

(A) 5′-TATAAT-3′

(B) 5′-TTAGGG-3′

(C) 5′-GGGCCC-3′

(D) 5′-AAAAAA-3′

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 14 Which one of the following bioreactor configurations is the basis for a trickling biological filter?

(A) Stirred tank

(B) Packed bed

(C) Air lift

(D) Fluidized bed

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 15 An enzyme catalyzes a reaction by

(A) decreasing the energy of the substrate.

(B) decreasing the activation energy of the reaction.

(C) decreasing product stability.

(D) increasing the activation banier of the reaction.

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 16 Which of the following statements are CORRECT about the function of fetal bovine serum in
animal cell culture? P. It stimulates cell growth Q. It enhances cell attachment R. It provides hormones and
minerals S. It maintains pH at 7.4

(A) P and Q only

(B) P and S only

(C) P, Q and R only

(D) P, Q, R and S

Q.No. 17 Match the industrial products mentioned in Group I with their producer organisms in

(A) P-4, Q-3, R-1, S-2

(B) P-3, Q-1, R-2, S-4

(C) P-2, Q-1, R-4, S-3

(D) P-3, Q-1, R-4, S-2

Q.No. 18 Consider an unfair coin. The probability of getting heads is 0.6. If you toss this coin twice, What is
the probability that the first or the second toss is heads?

(A) 0.56

(B) 0.64

(C) 0.84

(D) 0.96

Q.No. 19 During protein synthesis, tRNAs are NOT involved in

(A) charging

(B) initiation

(C) elongation

(D) termination

Q.No. 20 Which one of the following metabolic processes in mammalian cells does NOT occur in the
mitochondria?

(A) Citric acid cycle

(B) Oxidative phosphorylation

(C) Fatty acid β-oxidation

(D) Glycolysis

Q.No. 21 Shear stress versus shear rate behavior of four different types of fluids (I, II, III and IV) are shown

in the figure below. Which one of the following options is
correct?

(A) I-Newtonian, II-Bingham plastic, III-Dilatant, IV-Pseudoplastic

(B) I-Pseudoplastic, II-Dilatant, III-Newtonian, IV-Bingham plastic

(C) I-Newtonian, II-Pseudoplastic, III-Bingham plastic, IV-Dilatant

(D) I-Newtonian, II-Bingham plastic, III-Pseudoplastic, IV-Dilatant

Q.No. 22 Which of the following are true about bacterial superoxide dismutase? P. Present in obligate
aerobes Q. Present in facultative anaerobes R. Present in aerotolerant anaerobes S. Absent in obligate
aerobes

(A) P and Q only

(B) P, Q and R only

(C) P and R only

(D) Q and S only

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 23 Shown below is a plasmid vector (P) and an insert (Q). The insert was cloned into the BamHI
siteof the vector. The recombinant plasmid was isolated and digested with BamHI or XhoI. The results from
the digestion experiments are shown in (R).

Which one of
the following explains the digestion results shown in (R)?

(A) The insert did not ligate to the vector.

(B) One copy of the insert ligated to the vector.

(C) The insert ligated to the vector as two tandem copies.

(D) The insert ligated to the vector as two copies but not in tandem.

Q.No. 24 A mixture contains three similarly sized peptides P, Q and R. The peptide P is positively charged,
Q is weakly negative and R is strongly negative. If this mixture is passed through an ion-exchange
chromatography column containing an anionic resin, their order of elution will be

(A) P, Q, R

(B) R, Q, P

(C) Q, R, P

(D) P, Q and R elute together

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 25 Which of the following factors can influence the lag phase of a microbial culture in a batch
fermentor? P. Inoculum size Q. Inoculum age R. Medium composition

(A) P and Q only

(B) Q and R only

(C) P and R only

(D) P, Q and R

Q.No. 26 Some of the cytokinins used in plant tissue culture media are given below: [P] BAP [QI Zeatin [R]
Kinetin [S] 2iP

(A) P and Q only

(B) Q and S only

(C) R and S only

(D) P and R only

Q.No. 27 Amino acid sequences of cytochrome c and ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase from 40 organisms
were chosen and phylogenetic trees were obtained for each of these two protein families. Determine the
correctness or otherwise of the following Assertion [a] and the Reason[r] Assertion[a]: The two trees will not
be identical Reason[r]: The nature and frequency of mutations in the two families are different

(A) Both [a] and [rl are true and [r] is the correct reason for [a].

(B) Both [a] and [r] are true but [r] is not the correct reason for [a].

(C) Both [a] and [r] are false.

(D) [a] is false but [r] is true.

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 28 Match the organelles in Group I with their functions in Group II.

(A) P-1, Q-3, R-2, S-5

(B) P-1, Q-4, R-5, S-3

(C) P-2, Q-5, R-3, S-4

(D) P-1, Q-3, R-4, S-5

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 29 Match the proteins in Group I with cellular processes in Group II

(A) P-4, Q-2, R-3, S-l

(B) P-2, Q-3, R-1, S-4

(C) P-4, Q-3, R-1, S-2

(D) P-2, Q-3, R-4, S-1

Q.No. 30 A recombinant protein is to be expressed under the control of the Iac promoter and operator in a
strain of E. coli having the genotype lacI⁺ crp⁺. Even in the absence of inducer IPTG, low levels of
expression of the recombinant protein are seen (leaky expression). Which one of the following should be
done to minimize such leaky expression?

(A) Addition of lactose to the medium

(B) Removal of all glucose from the medium

(C) Addition of excess glucose to the medium

(D) Addition of allo-lactose to the medium

Q.No. 31 Match the classes of RNA molecules in Group I with their functions in Group II.

(A) P-3, Q-5, R-2, S-4

(B) P-1, Q-3, R-2, S-5

(C) P-1, Q-4, R-5, S-2

(D) P-4, Q-1, R-2, S-5

Q.No. 32 Match the human diseases in Group I with the causative agents in Group II.

(A) P-3, Q-4, R-2, S-1

(B) P-3, Q-2, R-1, S-4

(C) P-3, Q-4, R-1, S-2

(D) P-4, Q-3, R-1, S-2

Q.No. 33 Which one of the following statements is true for actin?

(A) Actin filament is structurally polarized and the two ends are not identical

(B) De novo actin polymerization is a single-step process

(C) The pointed end of the actin filaments is the fast growing end

(D) Actin forms spindle fibers during mitosis

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 34 Determine the correctness or otherwise of the following Assertion [a] and the Reason[r] Assertion
[a]: Embryonic stem cells are suitable for developing knockout mice Reason [r]: Homologous recombination
is more frequent in embryonic stem cells than that in somatic cells

(A) Both [a] and [r] are true and [r] is the correct reason for [a]

(B) Both [a] and [r] are true but [r] is not the correct reason for [a]

(C) Both [a] and [r] are false

(D) [a] is false but [r] is true

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 35 Determine the correctness or otherwise Of the following Assertion and the Reason [r] regarding
mammalian cells. Assertion[a]: Cells use Ca2⁺, and not Na⁺, for cell-to-cell signaling Reason[r]: In the l,
concentration of Na⁺ is lower than that of Ca2⁺

(A) Both [a] and [rl are true and [r] is the correct reason for [a].

(B) Both [a] and [r] are true but [r] is not the correct reason for [a].

(C) Both [a] and [r] are false.

(D) [a] is true but [r] is false.

Q.No. 36 Ras protein is a

(A) trimeric GTPase involved in relaying signal from cell surface to nucleus.

(B) monomeric GTPase involved in relaying signal from cell surface to nucleus.

(C) trimeric GTPase involved in regulation of cytoskeleton.

(D) monomeric GTPase involved in regulation of cytoskeleton.

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 37 Match subcellular organelles listed in Group I with their features listed in Group II:

(A) P-1, Q-4, R-2, S-3

(B) P-2, Q-3, R-4, S-1

(C) P-3, Q-4, R-2, S-1

(D) P-3, Q-1, R-4, S-2

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 38 In eukaryotes, cytokinesis is inhibited by

(A) cytochalasin D

(B) vinblastine

(C) nocodazole

(D) colchicine

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 39 Which of the following technique(s) can be used to study conformational changes in myoglobin? P.
Mass spectrometry Q. Fluorescence spectroscopy R. Circular dichroism spectroscopy S. Light microscopy

(A) P only

(B) P and S only

(C) Q and R only

(D) S only

Q.No. 40 Which one of the following CANNOT be a recognition sequence for a Type II restriction enzyme?

(A) GAATTC

(B) AGCT

(C) GCGGCCGC

(D) ATGCCT

Q.No. 41 Protein p becomes functional upon phosphorylation Of a serine residue. Replacing this serine with
___________ will result in a phosphomimic mutant of P.

(A) alanine

(B) aspartic acid

(C) phenylalanine

(D) lysine

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 42 Which one of the following is the solution for cos2x + 2cosx + 1 = 0, for values of x in the range of
0° < x < 360°?

(A) 45°

(B) 90°

(C) 180°

(D) 270°

Q.No. 43 The genome is diploid at the end of which phases of a human mitotic cell cycle?

(A) G2 & S

(B) G1 & M

(C) M & S

(D) G1 & G2

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 44 Growth of a microbe in a test tube is modeled as dX

dt
= rX (1 −
X

K
), where, X is the biomass, r is

the growth rate, and K is the carrying capacity of(c) only Y-linked the environment (r ≠ 0; K ≠ 0). If the
value of starting biomass is K

100
which one of the following graphs qualitatively represents the growth
dynamics?

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 45 Which class Of antibody is first made by developing B cells inside bone marrow?

(A) IgG

(B) IgE

(C) IgA

(D) IgM

Q.No. 46 Which one of the following is NOT a part of the human nonspecific defense system?

(A) Interferon

(B) Mucous

(C) Saliva

(D) Antibody

Q.No. 47 Match the organisms in Column I with the characteristics in Column II

(A) P-4, Q-3, R-2, S-1

(B) P-3, Q-2, R-4, S-1

(C) P-2, Q-1, R-4, S-3

(D) P-4, Q-1, R-2, S-3

Q.No. 48 Which of the following are true with regard to anaerobic respiration in bacteria? P. The final
electron acceptor is an inorganic substance other than molecular oxygen Q. The number of ATP molecules
produced per glucose molecule is more than that produced in aerobic respiration R. The number of ATP
molecules produced per glucose molecule is less than that produced in aerobic respiration S. Only substrate
level phosphorylation is used to generate ATP

(A) P and S only

(B) Q and S only

(C) P and R only

(D) P, Q and S only

Q.No. 49 Vincristine and vinblastine, two commercially important secondary metabolites from Calharanlhus
roseus, are examples of

(A) alkaloids.

(B) flavonoids.

(C) terpenoids.

(D) steroids.

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 50 Natural proteins are composed primarily of 20 a-amino acids. Which one of the following
statements is tme for any of these amino acids in a solution of pH 1.5?

(A) Only the amino group is ionized.

(B) Only the carboxylic acid group is ionized

(C) Both amino and carboxylic acid groups are ionized.

(D) Both amino and carboxylic acid groups are neutral.

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 51 Which one of the following is INCORRECT about protein structures?

(A) A protein fold is stabilized by favorable non-covalent interactions

(B) All parts of a fold can be classified as helices, strands or turns

(C) Two non-covalent atoms cannot be closer than the sum of their van der Waals radii

(D) The peptide bond is nearly planar.

Answer: (B)

Q.No. 52 Which Of the following statements about immune response are CORRECT? [P] T cells are
activated by antigen-presenting cells [QI Foreign peptides are not presented to helper T cells by Class II
MHC proteins [R] Dendritic cells are referred to as professional antigen-presenting cells

(A) P and Q only

(B) P and R only

(C) Q and R only

(D) P,Q and R

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 53 Which one of the following media components is used to maintain pH in mammalian cell culture?

(A) CaCl₂

(B) MgSO₄

(C) NaCl

(D) NaHCO₃

Q.No. 54 The Bt toxin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis used to generate genetically modified crops is

(A) cry

(B) cro

(C) cdc

(D) cre

Answer: (A)

Q.No. 55 A list of pathogens (Group I) and a list of anti-microbial agents (Group II) used to treat their
infections are given below. Match the pathogens with the corresponding anti-microbial agents.

(A) P-4, Q-3, R-2, S-5

(B) P-5, Q-2, R-4, S-1

(C) P-2. 0-3. R-4. S-1

(D) P-2, Q-3, R-1, S-5

Answer: (B)