All GRE Subject Test: Biology Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Understanding Genetic Patterns
An error occurs during DNA replication, resulting in the insertion of a base pair. Replication of the original 3' DNA strand (template) produces a mutant 3' strand (mutant), as diagrammed below:
Template
3' - AUGGCCATTTTTATA - 5'
Mutant
3'- AUGCGCCATTTTTATA - 5'
Of the answers below, which best describes the type of mutation depicted above?
Nonsense mutation
Duplication mutation
Repeat expansion
Frameshift mutation
Missense mutation
Frameshift mutation
The addition of a number of nucleotides that is not a multiple of three shifts the reading frame of the codons in the gene. One base pair was inserted early in the strand, thus shifting the codon reading frame +1 to the right.
Missense and nonsense mutations imply base pair substitutions, which did not occur in the diagram. Similarly, nothing was duplicated, and repeat expansion would require multiple repetitions of a short DNA sequence.
Example Question #1 : Understanding Transcription Factors
Consider the following scenario:
Gene-Z is a transcription factor required for transcribing the genes that contribute to populating the motor cortex with the proper number of neurons. Mutant mice for Gene-Z have 50% fewer motor neurons than controls (non-mutants). You genetically engineer a transgenic DNA construct that acts as a dominant negative to Gene-Z.
You transfect an embryonic mouse brain with this dominant negative and measure that all motor neurons get and expressed this construct. What would you expect the number of neurons in the transfected brain to be if the dominant negative works with 100% efficacy, and a normal motor cortex has 100,000 cells in the region you are examining?
This question requires the knowledge that a dominant negative is expected to work in the same direction as a genetic mutant; it is a loss-of-function of the gene, by expressing a version of the gene that outcompetes the actual gene but cannot perform the proper biological process. Because we are assuming the dominant negative works perfectly, it should act just like the mutant and reduce cell number by 50%, giving us 50,000 cells.
Example Question #1 : Understanding Transcription Factors
Which of the following statements about the function of transcription factors is not true?
Transcription factors can bind to enhancer and promoter regions to downregulate DNA expression.
Transcription factors can stabilize or destabilize the binding of RNA polymerases to DNA prior to transcription.
Transcription factors can be activated by intracellular signaling cascades to modulate DNA expression in a context-dependent manner.
Transcription factors can bind to enhancer and promoter regions to upregulate DNA expression.
Transcription factors can only be activated by phosphatases.
Transcription factors can only be activated by phosphatases.
Transcription factors can be activated or deactivated by any number of processes occurring within the cell and nucleus, and this it not limited to phosphatases (which remove phosphate groups from proteins). All of the other answers accurately describe possible activity and function of transcription factors.
Example Question #12 : Genetic Sequences, Transcription, And Translation
Which of the following is true?
I. Transcription factors typically bind directly to the genes that they regulate.
II. Transcription factors can bind enhancer and promoter regions upstream of the genes they regulate.
III. In eukaryotes, transcription factors frequently associate with coactivators.
IV. Transcription factors can either upregulate or downregulate transcription of a gene.
II, III, and IV
II and III
I and III
II and IV
I, III, and IV
II, III, and IV
Only the first statement in this question is false. Transcription factors typically (in fact, almost always) bind upstream of the gene to enhancer or promoter regions, and are rarely found interacting with the gene's coding region itself.
Example Question #161 : Gre Subject Test: Biology
Which of the following are commonly found in a eukaryotic RNA-polymerase-II-dependent promoter?
I. Shine-Delgarno sequence
II. TATA element
III. Ribosomal binding site
I and III
I only
II only
I, II, and III
II only
Of the three choices, the only element commonly found in a eukaryotic promoter is a TATA element. This is the site where TBP (TATA binding protein) binds and begins to recruit other transcriptional machinery.
The Shine-Delgarno sequence is commonly found on prokaryotic mRNA and serves as a ribosomal binding site. Because promoters are regions of DNA, both option I and II do not really apply.
Example Question #2 : Understanding Transcription
In eukaryotes, promoter sequences are regulatory elements found upstream of the transcription start site. Promoter sequences are required for transcription factors and RNA polymerase to recognize and bind to the DNA strand, thus promoting transcription of the genes on that strand and production of mRNA.
mRNA is ultimately translated into proteins, i.e. gene products. Consider a mutation in the promoter sequence that increases the affinity of RNA polymerase for the DNA strand. Compared to a sequence where the promoter sequence is wild-type, which of the outcomes below is most likely for this mutated promoter region?
Altered tertiary structure of the gene product
Overexpression of the gene product
Loss of the gene product
The process described above has nothing to do with quantity of gene product
20% reduction in gene product
Overexpression of the gene product
The binding of RNA polymerase and transcription factors is tightly modulated by promoter elements. If affinity was increased compared to a wild-type sequence, we would expect that RNA polymerase would bind more easily to the sequence and produce more mRNA. Nothing about the nature of this mRNA is altered (since the coding sequences are unchanged); there is simply more of it, which would mean overexpression of the protein for which it codes.
Example Question #11 : Genetic Sequences, Transcription, And Translation
What is the region of DNA where transcription factors and RNA polymerase bind, and that is also responsible for regulating transcription?
Promoter
Enhancer
Intron
Insulator
Exon
Promoter
The correct answer is promoter. The promoter is directly upstream of the start of transcription for a given gene. It is the site of transcription factor and RNA polymerase binding, and interacts with distant enhancers to regulate transcription.
Example Question #53 : Genetics, Dna, And Molecular Biology
Eukaryotic transcription requires many proteins interacting in a coordinated fashion to drive the process of converting DNA to RNA. RNA polymerase, the enzyme that initiates transcription, needs a number of factors and components to being transcribing a gene. Which of the following answers is not one of these factors?
DNA polymerase
Transcription factors
Core promoter sequence
Each of these are required for initiation of transcription
Activators
DNA polymerase
DNA polymerase is a crucial factor required for replication of DNA, but is not a component utilized in the process of transcription. The core promoter sequence, activators, and transcription factors are all needed in order for RNA polymerase to begin the process.
Example Question #51 : Genetics, Dna, And Molecular Biology
A protein that will be embedded in the plasma membrane is likely to be translated by __________.
ribosomes bound to the endoplasmic reticulum
nuclear ribosomes
cytosolic ribosomes
ribosomes bound to the Golgi apparatus
ribosomes bound to the endoplasmic reticulum
Most proteins that will be embedded in the plasma membrane are translated on ribosomes located in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. There are specific mechanisms and proteins that help insert the proteins into the membrane while they are being translated. Free-floating proteins are more likely to be translated in the cytosol. The nucleus and the Golgi do not have ribosomes used for translation, though the Golgi can play an important role in transporting proteins from the rough endoplasmic reticulum to the membrane.
Example Question #52 : Genetics, Dna, And Molecular Biology
What site in the ribosome contains the elongating polypeptide?
P site
E site
R site
A site
P site
A tRNA that is attached to one amino acid will enter the ribosomal complex at the A site. It will then receive the growing polypeptide chain from the previous tRNA and move into the P site. Once handing off the chain, the tRNA that no longer has an amino acid will exit the ribosome at the E site.
The peptide chain is always anchored in the P site, where peptide bond synthesis occurs.
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