| Date | May 2017 | Marks available | 1 | Reference code | 17M.3.SL.TZ2.11 |
| Level | Standard level | Paper | Paper 3 | Time zone | Time zone 2 |
| Command term | Outline | Question number | 11 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Golden rice is a genetically modified variety of rice (Oryza sativa). The golden colour comes from beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible parts of rice. The modification was achieved by the addition of two beta-carotene biosynthesis genes, one from a flower (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) and the other from a soil bacterium (Erwinia uredovora).
Using this information, outline the reason for Golden rice being considered a transgenic organism.
Outline the bioinformatics method used to identify the target gene in the plant.
Markscheme
a. transgenic organisms produce proteins that were not previously part of their species’ proteome
b. golden rice has genes belonging to other species «flower and bacterium» that were not there naturally/originally
database/NCBI/BLAST/BLASTn/BLASTp search «to find target gene»
