Q31 · UPSC Prelims 2016 · Set A · Science and Technology

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In the context of the developments in Bioinformatics, the term 'transcriptome', sometimes seen in the news, refers to

A A range of enzymes used in genome editing
B The full range of mRNA molecules expressed by an organism
C The description of the mechanism of gene expression
D A mechanism of genetic mutations taking place in cells

Correct answer: (b) The full range of mRNA molecules expressed by an organism

Explanation

  1. A

    A range of enzymes used in genome editing

    A range of genome-editing enzymes. That points to CRISPR nucleases or restriction enzymes, not the transcriptome. This letter is not the key.

  2. B

    The full range of mRNA molecules expressed by an organism

    The full range of mRNA molecules expressed by an organism. Transcriptome means the set of RNA transcripts, especially messenger RNAs, present in a cell, tissue or organism at a time. That stored letter is the official key.

  3. C

    The description of the mechanism of gene expression

    A description of the mechanism of gene expression. That is gene-regulation biology, not the transcriptome dataset itself. This letter is not the key.

  4. D

    A mechanism of genetic mutations taking place in cells

    A mechanism of genetic mutations in cells. Mutation mechanisms are not called the transcriptome. This letter is not the key.

Summary. Official key is (b) the full range of mRNA molecules expressed by an organism. Transcriptomics profiles that RNA set. Editing enzymes, expression mechanisms and mutation pathways are different bioinformatics/biology objects. Honour the stored letter (b).