Module 6 MCQ bank

Welcome to the quiz bank for Multiple Choice Question Quiz 6. Questions
included in this test bank relate to lecture content and prescribed reading
material from BIOL2202 Module 6: Human Genetics.

Thorough understanding of course content is not achieved by cramming at the

end of semester. The MCQ Module Quiz assessments are designed to promote
continual study and preparation throughout the semester, while providing
important summative feedback that will help inform students of their depth of
understanding of the subject material. You are encouraged to study these
questions in preparation for the upcoming quiz. Answers will not be provided;
all answers can be determined from the lecture notes or subject textbook.

To make the most of the MCQ quizzes, you should:

• Read through your lecture notes from Module 6
• Read the prescribed textbook sections for Module 6 from Snustad and
Simmons
• Attempt to answer the quiz bank questions by yourself
• Compare your answers with a friend. Avoid falling into the trap of simply
copying the answers of someone else

The most important outcome from the MCQ quizzes is that the process of
ongoing study throughout the semester will assist you in the end of semester
exam, the hardest assessment task of the course.

The Quiz: Unlike the other quizzes, the questions of Module 6 will appear in
the end of semester exam. Five multiple choice questions have been chosen
from this pool of fifty and appear as section 7 in the exam, and these are the
only multiple choice questions that will appear.

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Chapter 3

1. A recessive trait is one that is:

A) Masked by a dominant trait, if a dominant trait is present in the genotype
B) Not masked by any other trait present in the genotype
C) Masked by another recessive trait, if another recessive trait is present in the
genotype
D) All of these
E) None of these

2. A dominant trait is one that:

A) Will always be expressed if it is present in the genotype
B) Is not observed in every generation if it is present in the genotype
C) Masked by a recessive trait, if a recessive trait is present in the genotype
D) All of these
E) None of these

3. A man was born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. His wife and
their son have a normal number of digits. Having extra digits is a dominant trait. The
couple's second child has extra digits. What is the probability that their next child will
have extra digits, assuming that the trait exhibits complete penetrance?
A) 10%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 100%
E) 0%

4. Why has progress studying the genetic traits of human beings been slow?
A) It is impossible to make controlled crosses with human beings
B) The study had to be based upon accurate family records
C) Human beings do not typically produce large numbers of progeny
D) All of these
E) None of these

5. In a pedigree analysis which of the following would represent an affected male?

A) Colored circle
B) Non-colored circle
C) Colored square
D) Non-colored square
E) Non-colored diamond

Page 2
Chapter 6

6. The analysis of stained chromosomes is the main activity of the discipline called:
A) Cytology
B) Cytogenetics
C) Genetics
D) Embryology
E) Neonatology

7. Human diploid cells contain _____ chromosomes.

A) 12
B) 24
C) 46
D) 48
E) 23

8. A pictorial chart of chromosomes arranged from largest to smallest is known as a(an):

A) Karyotype
B) Genetic analysis
C) Pedigree chart
D) Amniocentesis
E) Chorionic villus sample

9. Which of the following can cause a phenotypic change in an organism:

A) Too many chromosomes
B) Too few chromosomes
C) Changes in part of a chromosome
D) Too many chromosomes and Too few chromosomes
E) All of these

10. An organism that carries extra sets of chromosomes is termed:

A) Aneuploid
B) Euploid
C) Polyploid
D) Diploid
E) Haploid

11. Triplications of a chromosome are known as:

A) Down syndrome
B) Trisomy
C) Autosomy
D) Triploidy
E) Polyploidy

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12. The most common cause for trisomy events in human beings is:
A) Normal disjunction during meiosis
B) Non-disjunction during meiosis
C) Normal disjunction during oogenesis
D) Normal disjunction during spermatogenesis
E) None of these is a cause for trisomy

13. Chromosome painting:

A) is the most advanced technique used by cytogeneticists
B) involves treating chromosome spreads with fluorescently labeled DNA fragments
C) can help locate a particular gene on a chromosome
D) all of these
E) none of these

14. The long arm of a chromosome is designated with the letter _______ and the short arm
with the letter_______.
A) p, q
B) q, p
C) a, b
D) b, a
E) none of these

Page 4
Chapter 16

15. The ability of scientists to identify and isolate genes based on information about their
location in the genome is known as:
A) Functional mapping
B) Positional cloning
C) Positional mapping
D) Microarray analysis
E) None of these

16. Based on the sequencing data acquired from the Human Genome Project, how many
genes are in the human genome?
A) 20,000-35,000
B) 50,000-100,000
C) 100,000-120,000
D) 150,000-200,000
E) 220,000-250,000

17. Based on the sequencing data acquired from the Human Genome Project, what
percentage of the human genome is comprised of exons, which will be translated into
proteins?
A) 1.1%
B) 24%
C) 50%
D) 75%
E) 90%

18. Which of the following could be a future application of the technology, skills, and data
acquired from the Human Genome Project?
1. Individuals can have their DNA sequenced
2. Researchers can determine genetic variations among different populations of humans
3. Drugs can be developed based upon an individuals genetic makeup
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 1 and 2
E) All of these

19. The science of gathering, manipulating, storing, retrieving, and classifying recorded
biological information is known as:
A) Functional genetics
B) Structural genetics
C) Comparative genetics
D) Evolutionary genetics
E) Bioinformatics

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20. __________, such as restriction maps, are based on molecular distances separating sites
on a DNA molecule.
A) Physical maps
B) Vector maps
C) Structural genomics
D) Comparative genomics
E) None of these

21. _________ allow researchers to study the transcription of thousands of genes

simultaneously.
A) Gel electrophoresis
B) Northern blots
C) Dot blots
D) Microarrays
E) None of these

Page 6
Chapter 17

22. The gene for which of the following diseases was identified by positional cloning?
A) Huntington's disease
B) Cystic fibrosis
C) Breast Cancer
D) Huntington's disease and Cystic fibrosis
E) All of these

23. Which of the following can be attributed to the presence of unstable trinucleotide
repeats?
A) Huntington's Disease
B) Fragile X Syndrome
C) Mytonic Dystrophy
D) Huntington's Disease and Fragile X Syndrome
E) All of these

24. How many CAG nucleotide repeats are commonly found in patients with Huntington's
disease?
A) 1-10
B) 11-34
C) 42-100
D) 200-500
E) 1000-2000

25. The genetic cause of Huntington's disease can best be described as a:

A) Increased trinucleotide repeat in the huntingtin gene
B) Increased trinuclotide repeat in the fibrosin gene
C) Decreased trinucleotide repeat in the huntingtin gene
D) Decreased trinucleotide repeat in the fibrosin gene
E) None of these

26. In Huntington's disease the age of onset is:

A) Proportionally correlated with the number of CAG repeats
B) Inversely correlated with the number of CAG repeats
C) Always at 30 years of age
D) Always between 30 and 40 years of age
E) None of these

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27. On which chromosome is the huntingtin gene located?
A) Chromosome 1
B) Chromosome 4
C) Chromosome 7
D) Chromosome 21
E) Chromosome 22

28. On which chromosome is the CF gene located?

A) Chromosome 1
B) Chromosome 4
C) Chromosome 7
D) Chromosome 21
E) Chromosome 22

29. Why was the use of the sweat gland cDNA library critical in identifying the CF gene?
1. The CF gene is only expressed in epithelial cells of the lungs, pancreas, salivary
glands, sweat glands, intestine, and reproductive tract
2. The CF gene is not expressed in any other tissue than sweat glands
3. The CF gene is not expressed in sweat glands
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 1 and 2
E) All of these

30. Seventy percent of all Cystic Fibrosis cases are caused by which of the following
mutations?
A) DF508 trinucleotide deletion
B) DF508 trinucleotide repeat
C) CAG trinucleotide repeat
D) CAG trinuclotide deletion
E) None of these

31. Which of the following was critical in identifying the CF gene for cystic fibrosis?
A) Use of a sweat gland cDNA library
B) Unique structure of the CF gene product
C) Important clues from biochemical analysis
D) Characteristic symptoms of the disease
E) None of these

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32. The characterisation of the huntingtin and CF genes has led to which of the following?
A) DNA tests for the mutations which cause the respective diseases
B) DNA tests for the protein that is formed in the respective diseases
C) Treatments for the respective diseases
D) Treatments for all neurological degenerative diseases
E) A better understanding of the causes of cancer

33. Which of the following techniques is used to test for unstable trinucleotide repeats
associated with Huntington's disease?
A) Positional cloning
B) DNA sequencing
C) PCR
D) In situ hybridization
E) Northern blotting

34. The mutation that causes sickle cell anemia can be tested for by:
A) Testing for the presence or absence of a specific restriction enzyme cleavage site in
DNA
B) Testing for the presence of a trinucleotide repeat in DNA
C) Testing for the absence of a trinucleotide repeat in DNA
D) Testing for the deletion of three nucleotides (a codon)
E) Testing for the insertion of three nucleotides (a codon)

35. When testing for the presence of the sickle cell anemia Hbb allele, a technician who
prepares a Southern blot and observes two small bands for the HbbA allele and one band
for the Hbb allele. What do these results mean?
A) The subject is homozygous for the sickle cell allele
B) The subject is heterozygous
C) The subject is homozygous for the normal allele
D) The results are inconclusive and the test will need to be run again
E) Southern blots can not test for the presence of the sickle cell allele

36. The practice of introducing functional gene copies into an individual with two
nonfunctional copies is known as:
A) Gene cloning
B) Gene therapy
C) Gene diagnostics
D) Southern blotting
E) None of these

37. The first use of gene therapy occurred in 1990 on a patient with which of the following
diseases?
A) Huntington's disease
B) Cystic fibrosis
C) ADA-SCID
D) AIDS
E) Systemic Lupus

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38. Which of the following is a reason that a patient with ADA-SCID is a good candidate
for somatic cell gene therapy?
A) The ADA gene was one of the first human disease genes to be cloned and
characterised
B) White blood cells can easily be obtained from ADA- SCID patients and
reintroduced after functional copies of the ADA gene are added
C) Even a small amount of functional ADA will restore partial immune function
D) A and B
E) A and B and C

39. Which of the following is a current problem with somatic cell gene therapy, as seen in
the therapy regimen used in patients with ADA-SCID?
A) The therapy is too expensive
B) The therapy is transient an the gene promoters are silenced by the host quickly
C) The functional gene copy is lost during introduction
D) The lifespan of red blood cells is short
E) None of these

40. Currently white blood cells have been used in the somatic cell gene therapy treatment
for patients with ADA-SCID, but their short lifespan is prohibitive in the treatment plan.
What other type of cell could be used, and is being tested, with better results?
A) Bone marrow stem cells
B) Red blood cells
C) Epithelial cells
D) T lymphocytes
E) B lymphocytes

41. Antisense mRNA molecules work by:

A) Annealing to DNA to prevent replication
B) Annealing to DNA to prevent transcription
C) Being translated into non-functional protein molecules
D) Being translated into functional protein molecules that interact with normal protein
molecules
E) Annealing to sense mRNA to prevent translation.

42. In RNAi, the following are true except:

A) Double-strand RNA is injected into a cell
B) A vector can be introduced to produce a double-stranded RNA hairpin
C) Fragments of the RNA anneal with a promoter and silence gene transcription
D) Fragments of the RNA anneal with the target mRNA.
E) The RiSC system degrades the target mRNA and the annealed RNA fragment.

Page 10
Chapter 22

43. Cancers develop:

A) Through the activation of a singular proto-oncogene
B) Through the activation of a singular tumor suppressor gene
C) Through the accumulation of somatic mutations in proto-oncogenes and tumor
suppressor genes.
D) Through the inactivation of a singular tumor suppressor gene
E) Through the inactivation of a singular proto-oncogene

44. Which of the following is not one of the hallmarks of the pathways leading to malignant
cancer?
A) Cancer cells acquire self-sufficiency in the signalling processes that stimulate
division and growth
B) Cancer cells are normally sensitive to signals that inhibit growth
C) Cancer cells can evade programmed cell death.
D) Cancer cells acquire limitless replicative potential
E) Cancer cells develop ways to nourish themselves

45. That there was a genetic basis for cancer was long suspected because:
A) The cancerous property of tumor cells is clonally inherited
B) Tumors can be induced by mutagenic chemicals and ionizing radiation
C) Some forms of cancers tend to run in families
D) Chromosomal arrangements were often associated with certain kinds of tumors
E) All of these

46. In which of the following classes of genes do mutants actively promote cell division?
A) Tumor suppressor genes
B) Oncogenes
C) Operator genes
D) Promoter genes
E) Silencer genes

47. In which of the following classes of genes do mutant genes fail to repress cell division?
A) Tumor suppressor genes
B) Oncogenes
C) Operator genes
D) Promoter genes
E) Silencer genes

48. Burkitts lymphoma and chronic myelogenous leukemia are associated with which of the
following?
A) Lack of tumor suppressor genes
B) Formation of thymidine dimers due to UV light exposure
C) Mutations induced by exposure to carcinogens in cigarette smoke
D) Reciprocal translocations on chromosomes
E) Amplification of a growth factor receptor gene

Page 11
49. Tumor suppressor genes:
A) Were discovered by studies of rare cancers exhibiting a dominant pattern of
inheritance
B) Were suggested by Alfred Knudson's findings in his 1971 study of retinoblastoma
C) Function in more than one cellular process
D) Of particular classes function by binding to and inhibiting the activity of
transcription factors controlling cell cycle progression
E) All of these

50. Which of the following is not true regarding Knudson's “two hit” hypothesis?
A) In the inherited cases of retinoblastoma, one of the inactivating mutations has been
transmitted through the germ line
B) Two mutational “hits” are required to knock out a gene that normally functions to
suppress tumor formation
C) A cancer develops only if a second mutation occurs in the somatic cells and if this
mutation knocks out the function of the wild-type allele of the tumor suppressor
gene
D) All of these are true
E) None of these are true

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